London and World Protests Oppose Iraq Occupation

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

http://reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3518539

LONDON (Reuters) - Chanting "Troops out of Iraq and Blair out of Number 10," thousands of anti-war protesters took to the streets of London on Saturday to demonstrate against Britain's continued military involvement in Iraq. Coordinated global protests, from Seoul to Spain and San Francisco, also called for an end to the U.S.-led occupation and Israel's hold on Palestinian territory, but were small and only a faint shadow of huge pre-war peace rallies.

In the first major protest in Britain since the war ended in April, demonstrators -- some 20,000, by police estimates -- vented their anger at the invasion and the reasons given for it. The march added to pressure on Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose popularity and trust ratings have sunk in the aftermath of the Iraq conflict, in which Britain was America's staunchest ally.

The failure to unearth any weapons of mass destruction -- the main justification for war -- and the public inquiry into the suicide of a government expert on Iraq have plunged Blair into the worst political crisis of his six-year tenure.

"It was all lies," protester Peter Mason, 45, told Reuters. "The millions who demonstrated before the war were right."
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20,000 protest war in central London

http://www.thisislocallondon.co.uk/news/topstories/display.var.417469.0.20_000_protest_war_in_central_london.php

Ken Livingstone is due to address a rally against the war in Iraq and advocating a free Palestine in central London this afternoon.

Thousands of protesters came in coaches from across Britain to protest against the US and UK invasion of Iraq earlier this year.

The marchers assembled in Hyde Park at noon, and walked peacefully to Trafalgar Square through Picadilly.

Similar events took place in Paris, Berlin, Tokyo and Washington, as well as numerous other capitals.
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And at BBC, you can add your comments about the protest at: Are you involved in the Iraq demo? http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/3145096.stm