Reply #6: Tens of thousands protest plan to expand US air base in Italy

[deadparrot]

VICENZA, Italy (AFP) - Tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in Vicenza, Italy, against the planned expansion of a US military base, an issue which has split Italy's centre-left government.

The march, which drew more than 100,000 people from all over Italy, according to the organisers, and at least 40,000 according to police, passed off peacefully despite official warnings that "extremists" might foment violence.

The marchers encircled the picturesque city, swirling the red flag of the Refoundation Communist party, the rainbow flag of the pacifist movement, and the environmentalists' green standard, as police helicopters hovered overhead.

Banners read "America, No Thanks" and "Bases Go Home," while some sported images of Che Guevara.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/italyusmilitary