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http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_19-3-2003_pg4_19 Daily Times (Pakistan) Reuters March 19, 2003 Protests in Asia over US push for Iraq war By William Willitts [Australia] As Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch Bush ally, told parliament of his decision to commit 2,000 troops to an Iraq invasion force, a man in the public gallery shouted him down. “Murderer! Scumbag,” he screamed as Howard rose to defend his decision to deploy troops. [Vietnam] Anti-war sentiment was also easy to find in Vietnam, where an estimated three million people died during the Vietnam War. “I oppose this war of aggression. America will have to pay for it sooner or later,” said Binh, 53, a Vietnam War veteran.... [Japan] “I have two children, and resolving things by talk rather than war or military action is much better for the future. Children shouldn’t be made to suffer any more.” [India] “If America had any faith in democratic values, they would have tried to get a majority decision by the UN Security Council.” [Pakistan] “The war is not about terrorism or weapons of mass destruction. Bush has a hidden agenda. And that is to control the oil wealth of Iraq.” [Indonesia] "I think the US is the one which should be brought to justice for meddling in other countries’ business.” [Afghanistan] Qais, a student speaking in front of a bombed out Kabul building said: "We feel very sad because we have been through 23 years of war and know what damage it can cause, and we don’t want to see that happen to another Islamic country.” SYDNEY: From Tokyo’s ritzy Ginza shopping district to Afghanistan, people across Asia voiced anger against US plans for a thunderous assault on Iraq and fretted about the future. Many also thought the United States’ real aim was to get its hands on Iraqi oil and said a war would fuel hatred between Muslims and the West. President George W Bush laid out a 48-hour deadline for Saddam Hussein to leave Iraq or face a strike by 280,000 troops. The ultimatum comes after Bush said diplomacy to resolve the crisis had failed. In Sydney, morning commuters crossing the Harbour Bridge were greeted with a three-metre (10-foot) high “No War” slogan painted in blood red by daredevil activists across the top of one of the white sails of the Opera House. Protesters also made their mark in Australia’s parliament. As Prime Minister John Howard, a staunch Bush ally, told parliament of his decision to commit 2,000 troops to an Iraq invasion force, a man in the public gallery shouted him down. “Murderer! Scumbag,” he screamed as Howard rose to defend his decision to deploy troops. Security guards dragging the protester from the chamber. In Pakistan, more than 100 school and college students wearing school uniforms, white shrouds and bandanas with the slogan “God is Greatest” marched through the city of Rawalpindi, near Islamabad, demanding a jihad holy war against the United States. Others carried an effigy of Bush in a military uniform and waved placards and banners reading “No war for oil”, “Bush is the real sign of terrorism” and “Hate America, love Islam”. Anti-war sentiment was also easy to find in Vietnam, where an estimated three million people died during the Vietnam War. “I oppose this war of aggression. America will have to pay for it sooner or later,” said Binh, 53, a Vietnam War veteran who fixes bicycles and sells petrol on a Hanoi footpath. Quyen, 22, a law student, was resigned to war. “I don’t support any war but if it is what it takes to rid the world of terrorism then we have no other choice,” she said while sipping a drink in a Hanoi cafe. US oil grab? Tokyo housewife Chiyo Fukaya worried about the precedent military action would set. “I have two children, and resolving things by talk rather than war or military action is much better for the future,” she said during a shopping trip in Tokyo’s Ginza district. “Children shouldn’t be made to suffer any more.” Opinion polls show about two-thirds of Australians do not approve of a war that does not have UN backing. But some back their prime minister. “I am in favour of the war because of the outcome they’ve set for the war, making Iraq a better place to live for the Iraqi people,” said Stuart Amos, 38, a telecommunications engineer. Basudeb Mukherjee, a retired bank officer in Calcutta, said he thought US pressure on Baghdad stemmed from commercial interests and was a ploy to grab Iraqi oilfields. “If America had any faith in democratic values, they would have tried to get a majority decision by the UN Security Council,” he said. “They’re trying to take the law into their own hands.” Sabeen Hasan, a student at Karachi University, also thought oil was the main issue behind the march to war. “The war is not about terrorism or weapons of mass destruction. Bush has a hidden agenda. And that is to control the oil wealth of Iraq.” “Arrogant Bush”: “An attack on Iraq will not just result in protests in Pakistan and the rest of the Muslim countries. It will double, triple hate toward America. America is standing on one side on the issue and the rest of the world on the other,” she said. In Indonesia, Suwono, a 40-year-old engineer, said Bush was too arrogant. “It is really inappropriate for a country to make a threat to other countries,” he said in the capital Jakarta. “I think the US is the one which should be brought to justice for meddling in other countries’ business”, he said. It is a view voiced by others in the world’s most-populous Muslim country of 210 million people. Wang Fengchu, 23, a supermarket employee in Beijing, echoed those thoughts. “America is too much of a bully. It is not interested in human rights. It is just after oil in Iraq, like it wanted to control Kuwait,” he said. In wartorn Afghanistan, policeman Abdul Hadi said while the United States helped liberate his country from the Taliban 16 months ago, the idea of war with Iraq was not popular. “The US should have got approval through the UN for the decision of going to war against Iraq,” Hadi said. “The attack will further feed the seed of hatred against the US among Islamic countries.” Qais, a student speaking in front of a bombed out Kabul building said: “We feel very sad because we have been through 23 years of war and know what damage it can cause, and we don’t want to see that happen to another Islamic country.” __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! 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