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."
<snip>



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.
<snip>

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

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

1. Also in SF Chronicle...

<snip>
In Seoul, thousands of activists protested a U.S. request to send South Korean troops to Iraq. Chanting "No war!" they carried banners saying "End the occupation in Iraq" and "Oppose a plan to dispatch S. Korean combat troops to Iraq."

Some 4,000 protesters in the Turkish capital, Ankara, shouted slogans and unfurled banners to support the Palestinian cause and demand an end to the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq. Rock bands played at the rally and celebrities demanded that Turkey not deploy any peacekeepers. Hundreds more gathered at a similar rally in Istanbul and burned American and Israeli flags.

The London protest was timed for the eve of the governing Labor Party's annual conference for "maximum political impact," said Andrew Burgin, spokesman for Stop the War Coaltion, one of the rally's organizers.

The other main organizing group, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said a big demonstration would send a strong message to the government that the public did not condone what it called "lies" used to justify the war.

"The British people have the right to know the truth about the events leading to the illegal war on Iraq, which is causing untold suffering to the people of that country," group chairwoman Kate Hudson said.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/09/27/international1104EDT0485.DTL

[Cha]

2. Thanks for this ..Billy P! I was posting with someone from England

on DU who will be among those in London today and he was also @ the Protest in England on Feb.15, 2003 when almost a Million of us were in New York City...Can't wait to hear from him on this, too!

I wonder how the Protest in Washington D.C. has done? :)

These Protests are amazing! Especially if you've been in one with tens of thousands of other People wanting Democracy like you do!

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

3. *sigh* I'm stuck in Northern Alabama... 100 people here would

be an amazing turnout. I'm jealous! :-)

[Cha]

4. Hang in there Billy P.. Northern Alabama could turn out

to be a bastion of protest with the continuing scabrous bush dictums. :)

[sspiderjohn]

5. Is anyone listening? They didn't listen last time.

Sorry to be cynical, but THEY don't seem to care what the world, or their own constituency, thinks.

[Malva Zebrina]

13. maybe it is time to "storm the Bastille"

?

[LivingInTheBubble]

6. From Sky TV...

Watching sky news coverage of todays anti war protests.
George Galloway suggests the burning of bush on Bonfires rather than the traditional Guy Fawkes. Ken Livingston Mayor of London comes on saying that most of London agrees with him and lists Bushs history (going awol,unelected,insider dealing etc..). Criticises israeli occupation and general anti-arab sentiment being cultured in the west. He says that Bush cannot expect a civic reception at city hall on his upcoming visit.

(reposted from another thread, probably better off here).

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

8. I like Ken Livingston. He has been speaking his mind since the

beginning of the Iraq fiasco.

[LivingInTheBubble]

9. Sky TV poll

thankyou for voting. Here are the poll results:
Anti-war demonstrators: Do they have your support?
Expires:20 Oct 2003


Yes 52.27%



No 47.72%

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

11. Do you have a link?

[LivingInTheBubble]

12. link to sky:

http://www.sky.com/skynews/home

its tucked away in the middle.

I should add this is the same poll as is run on the TV station too, you can vote either by website or via the interactive service on the channel.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

14. Thanks.... I voted and the results are still as you posted.

[MisterP]

7. about 20 at Laguna Beach

1 counter-protester
kick

[Maeve]

10. Trafalgar Square picture

[dArKeR]

15. Thousands rally against Iraq occupation - Mirror

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/24by7panews/page.cfm?objectid=13456246&method=full&siteid=50143