http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m28322
100,000 Indian communists protest against death sentence for Saddam Hussein
The Associated Press
November 16, 2006
CALCUTTA, India: Some 100,000 Indian Communist Party members took to the
streets of Calcutta on Thursday protesting the death sentence handed to former
Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
The protesters called Hussein's trial a farce and condemned U.S.
President George W. Bush and U.S. policies in the Mideast.
An Iraqi court earlier this month convicted Saddam for the killings of
some 150 Shiite Muslims after an assassination attempt against him in 1982.
Addressing the rally, Biman Bose, a party leader, accused the U.S. of
repeatedly violating the sovereignty of developing nations.
Protesters held posters reading "Down with George Bush" and "Bush is the
greatest enemy to humanity." Calcutta's police control room estimated the crowd
at 100,000 people.
The West Bengal state, of which Calcutta is the capital, is a Communist
Party stronghold in India. They have repeatedly protested against India's ties
with the U.S. that have grown closer in recent years.
"I have come here closing my shop for a greater cause," said shop owner
S. Paul who attended the rally. "American hegemony has to be resisted. Today it
is Saddam Hussein, tomorrow it can be some other head of state," he said.
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