------------------------- Via Workers World News Service Reprinted from the April 3, 2003 issue of Workers World newspaper -------------------------
THE SUN NEVER SETS
WAVE OF PROTESTS SWEEPS WORLD
By John Catalinotto
A wave of anti-war protests has been circling the globe since Washington launched its missiles at Baghdad. The movement that showed its strength Feb. 15 has grown broader and deeper. Furious at U.S. crimes, it is resisting Washington's drive for empire.
The protests began as a new day dawned in Australia, Japan and Korea. They then moved with the sun across Indonesia and South Asia. In the Middle East they challenged the existence of unstable regimes.
They reached deeply into Africa and from East Europe and the Balkans across the NATO countries. They crossed the Atlantic to Brazil and Argentina, the Andes countries and Central and North America, from New York and Montreal to San Fran cisco and Vancouver, past Chicago and Mexico City, ending in Hawaii and starting up again at the International Date Line.
In the 19th century British imperialism boasted that the sun never set on its empire. Since March 20 the sun hasn't set on anti-war protests against U.S. imperialism.
Gathered here are excerpts from news reports and email messages from organizers. New developments include massive participation and initiative of high-school students, longer political strikes by organized labor and large, angry turnouts in the Muslim world.
"In Japan our demonstrations are not so large as in Europe," an organizer writes. But pictures show protesters outside one of the many U.S. military bases. The U.S. troops see the protests, too.
In the Philippines demonstrators burned a U.S. flag. They want the Penta gon out of Iraq--and to stay out of the Philippines, where the U.S. military was based for decades. Continued militant protests in South Korea caused the parliament on March 25 to shelve a vote on sending troops to Iraq.
Activist Max Watts calls from Sydney, Australia. "The demonstration was not as large Saturday [March 22] as Thurs day," he says, jokingly. "We left the dog home." Tens of thousands have come out each day, and Premier John Howard ducks eggs and shouts wherever he goes.
In Calcutta, anti-war demonstrators of the Socialist Unity Center on March 20 converged on the American Center, where they battled with police. Even in mountainous Nepal there are protests. But the largest action on the subcontinent was in Lahore, Pakistan, where 200,000 on March 23 vowed to defend Iraq against the U.S. attack. Pakistan's regime, a U.S. ally, quickly distanced itself from Wash ington's war policy.
In Sana'a, Yemen, a march by 200,000 on the U.S. Embassy was met with live ammunition. Four were killed, including a 12-year-old. In Cairo, 20,000, mostly university students, defied the Mubarak regime to protest and call for action to help Iraq. In Damascus, Syria, on March 25, a day after five Syrians returning from Iraq were killed in a bus rocketed by U.S. planes, hundreds of thousands protested.
PROTESTS IN AFRICA
An email from South Africa's Anti-War Coalition: "Across the Cape Metropole, about 8,000 school pupils took to the streets in Gugulethu, Langa, Athlone, Maitland, Salt River. Among them were increasing numbers of workers, COSATU members. This marks a historic phase in the anti-war movement as it is the first time that the youth have taken center stage in the post-apartheid struggles and on a directly political issue at that."
Protests took place also in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and on March 24, some 40,000 took the streets in Nouakchott, Mauritania.
In Turkey on March 23, police blocked 1,000 people who tried to march to the U.S. Embassy in Istanbul. In Izmir in the west of Turkey, protesters shouted, "We will not be soldiers for the USA!" and "Iraqi people are not alone."
From the Greek movement: "The strike action on March 20 was unprecedented. The center of Athens was paralyzed by a demo even bigger than on Feb. 15, more than 250,000. Thousands of young school kids, students took part and marched for more than five hours. Big demos in more than 30 cities," which papers later reported totaled 500,000 in a country of 10 million. On March 24 "school kids" turned an annual National Day parade into an anti-war march.
Italy remains continuously mobilized. A million protest in dozens of cities. Workers walk out. Peace flags fly from 2 million balconies. Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, despite his general subservience to Bush, promises that no Italian soldiers will fight.
In Germany on March 20 "there were 50,000 up to 70,000 pupils in Berlin in the streets. Joined by 50,000 adults later. Another 15,000 in Stuttgart." And, "this morning we blockaded the U.S. Army Headquarters in Heidelberg." On March 20, some 300,000 people demonstrated all over France, and again on March 22.
A move is on to surround U.S. embas sies and consulates everywhere. In Greece the embassy closed for at least two days.
In Switzerland, 30,000 marched in Berne on March 20, and 100,000 in 30 cities on March 22. The same day in Amsterdam, Netherlands, about 100,000 people came out, more than on Feb. 15. In Finland on March 22, "We had biggest antiwar-demonstration in 30 years. In Helsinki over 40,000 demonstrated against war. In Turku there were about 17,000 people."
On March 22, "Britain witnessed the biggest wartime demo in its history as 700,000 people marched through Lon don on an anti-war demo that had been called only five days before," wrote Chris Nineham of the Stop the War Coalition. An even larger march had preceded the start of the war.
In Madrid, Spain, hundreds of thousands came out on three consecutive days, first high-school and university students, then trade unions took the lead, and on March 22 all the organizations together. Police fired rubber bullets. Barcelona and other cities joined the action. In Lisbon, Portugal, 90,000 came out.
In Belgium on March 24 the Caterpillar workers laid down their tools for 24 hours to protest the war.
Across the Atlantic, 10,000 march on the U.S. Embassy in Sao Paolo. People in Argentina, Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico protest war and Yankee rule. A quarter million in New York and Montreal take the streets, 40,000 in Toronto, 20,000 in Vancouver and 75,000 in San Francisco, where 1,500 are arrested during the five days.
Washington's potent military assault on Baghdad is already a smashing political defeat for U.S. imperialism. Teenagers worldwide, who a year ago craved U.S. jeans and t-shirts, who lined up for Hollywood movies and watched U.S. sitcoms, are shouting "Bush, murderer!" in 90 languages, trashing McDonald's and burning U.S. flags. n
- END -
(Copyright Workers World Service: Everyone is permitted to copy and distribute verbatim copies of this document, but changing it is not allowed. For more information contact Workers World, 55 W. 17 St., NY, NY 10011; via e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe wwnews- [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe [EMAIL PROTECTED] Support the voice of resistance http://www.workers.org/orders/donate.php)
------------------ This message is sent to you by Workers World News Service. To subscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To unsubscribe, E-mail to: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To switch to the DIGEST mode, E-mail to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Send administrative queries to <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
