Global cry: No to war!

6 million protesters join marches

In a huge wave of demonstrations not seen since the Vietnam War, more than six million peace protesters took to the streets in 600 towns and cities from Cape Town to Chicago Saturday, calling on the United States not to attack Iraq.

The largest protests were in Europe. Estimates ranged from 300,000 demonstrators in France and 500,000 in Germany to one million in Italy and two million in Spain.

In Sydney, more than 200,000 people, some bearing banners asking “how many lives per liter?” thronged the streets Sunday, beginning a second day of global marches.

The Sydney crowd descended on the city’s Hyde Park on Sunday for a march against US-led threats of war, exceeding another protest in the city Saturday that attracted around 150,000.

Australia is one of Washington’s staunchest allies and has deployed around 2,000 troops to the Middle East. Prime Minister John Howard reaffirmed his support for the policy of President Bush.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the United Nations might need a new resolution on Iraq and warned Baghdad not to try to take advantage of differences among Security Council members.

In London, at least half a million people marched in the biggest peace demonstration in British history.

“This war is solely about oil. George Bush has never given a damn about human rights,” London Mayor Ken Livingstone told reporters.

In New York, South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu told around 100,000 demonstrators outside the United Nations that the United States should allow UN inspectors to finish their task of searching Iraq for illicit weapons.

Saturday protests in Asia were more muted. More than 10,000 protested in Calcutta, India, Saturday with banners reading “no blood for oil” and around 5,000 demonstrators gathered in a Tokyo park.

But numbers were tiny in Asian Muslim nations. Just 300 turned out in Karachi, 500 in Jakarta and 1,000 in Dhaka. Jakarta was the scene of a much larger protest last weekend, which attracted at least 7,000 people.

“The main reason why the scale of protests is small in Japan and elsewhere in Asia is that ordinary people think the issue will not directly affect their life,” said Akira Kawasaki, a 34-year-old activist.

Malaysian peace campaigners have garnered more than a million signatures in a government-backed push against war in Iraq, a minister said.

Muslims, who make up around 10 percent of Thailand’s 63 million people, focused on plans to boycott American brands such as Coca-Cola and McDonald’s in the event of war.

Around 20,000 people marched through central Brisbane bearing banners bearing slogans such as “Axis of Idiots.” The crowd included Iraqis who had fled the regime of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein.

“We are against Saddam Hussein,” said Iraqi refugee Hussein Kanaani, who arrived in Australia over two years ago.

“He is a very bad man and a dictator but we still don’t want war. War will destroy more that Saddam has already destroyed.”

US opinion polls show most Americans favor attacking Iraq but many insist on their nation getting UN support.

A White House spokeswoman said Bush, whose administration has deployed about 150,000 troops to the Persian Gulf region, still hoped to find a peaceful solution to the Iraq problem.

In Athens, riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators who threw stones and several petrol bombs at them on Saturday during a rally against a US-led war on Iraq.

Dozens of hooded protestors splintered from a main body of up to 100,000 demonstrators gathered in the Greek capital for what was supposed to be a peaceful protest, smashing several windows and burning a parked car.

Police said 12 cars were damaged and dozens of shops and banks had their windows smashed. They told Reuters they had made 13 arrests after 26 people were initially detained, while four police officers were also slightly injured.

Police said about 100,000 people had demonstrated in Athens, while a further 60,000 people had demonstrated at 52 cities and towns around Greece. Demonstrators said 150,000 had attended the Athens rally alone.

In the main northern city of Thessaloniki, protesters threw stones at the US consulate and police also used tear gas.

In Athens, the violence broke out in the main Syntagma square across from the Greek parliament.

Greece, as a nation and as current president of the European Union, strongly opposes military action against Iraq and says UN weapons inspectors should get more time to do their job.

Reuters and Bloomberg