Police in some cities clash with thousands of demonstrators, including many
students
PARIS Protests swelled around the world from Stockholm to Srinagar and San
Francisco on Thursday as the United States and Britain launched military
action in Iraq.
.
Virtually all the protests were directed against President George W. Bush
and the United States rather than the Iraqi regime.
.
The U.S. administration battened down its defenses at embassies in many
countries and evacuated nonessential staff as police forces in some cities
battled demonstrators seeking to march on the American missions.
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At least 13 embassies and consulates were closed for security reasons, and
officials in Washington said others might join them in coming days.
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The protests were often spontaneous, with students and children pouring out
of classrooms to join the demonstrations.
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Among the biggest demonstrations were those in Athens and Cairo, each of
which attracted between 150,000 and 200,000 protesters.
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Some of the demonstrators clashed with the police defending the U.S.
Embassy in downtown Cairo, where the protest turned nasty not only against
America but also against Arab leaders. It was the biggest of several
demonstrations in the Arab world.
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"Down with Arab leaders," the demonstrators yelled. "Leave, leave,
Mubarak," they said, referring to the Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak.
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Thousands of demonstrators, including about 500 Islamic militants, clashed
with baton-wielding police officers in Cairo as bystanders yelled, "Don't
hit them, don't hit them."
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In the Jordanian capital, Amman, several hundred lawyers scuffled with the
police as they tried to march on the Iraqi Embassy to express solidarity
with Iraq. Elsewhere in Amman, students ripped up U.S. flags.
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In Paris, where the government has led the international movement against
the war, thousands of mostly young demonstrators massed in the Place de la
Concorde, kept at a considerable distance from the U.S. Embassy by steel
barriers and ranks of police.
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"If we are going to bomb all the tyrants, let's start with the Texan," one
banner read. Another said: "Who sows war, reaps terrorism."
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In Athens, a vast crowd including tens of thousands of high school and
university students marched to the U.S. Embassy chanting, "No to the war"
and "Americans, killers of people." More demonstrations were planned for
Friday and the weekend. Greece's largest labor union called a three-hour
strike to coincide with the demonstration.
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In Germany, tens of thousands of schoolchildren, many with their faces
painted with peace symbols, demonstrated in Berlin, Cologne, Munich,
Hannover and other cities. About 15,000 people marched in Stuttgart, the
headquarters of U.S. forces in Europe. Demonstrators sloshed red paint
outside the U.S. Embassy in Berlin to symbolize the loss of blood. "Let's
bomb Texas, they've got oil too," said one banner.
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Police officers threw up a heavy guard around key buildings as an estimated
50,000 people marched to the Brandenburg Gate.
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In Spain, where the government backs the war but has not committed its
troops, the police in riot gear fired rubber bullets and beat demonstrators
as thousands of people, including well-known actors and other
personalities, gathered in central Madrid to protest the policy of Prime
Minister Jose Maria Aznar.
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The three biggest labor unions in Italy staged a two-hour strike as tens of
thousands of protesters took to the streets and blocked railroad stations
and highways to protest the U.S. action and Prime Minister Silvio
Berlusconi's support for it. The police prevented demonstrators from
marching up the Via Veneto toward the U.S. Embassy. In Milan, some 45,000
people marched.
.
Thousands of British anti-war demonstrators blocked roads and scuffled with
the police in London and other cities. Many of the demonstrators walked out
of school to protest the involvement of British troops in a war they called
an illegal grab for oil by the United States.
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The police in Brussels threw up barbed wire barricades and blasted crowds
of protesters with water as European leaders met to discuss the crisis.
Demonstrators also marched in Antwerp and the university town of Leuven.
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Demonstrations also broke out across Asia and Oceania. Banner-carrying
demonstrators tried unsuccessfully to storm an American cultural center in
Calcutta as the police drove them back with canes.
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The police said a crowd numbering tens of thousands brought the city of
Melbourne to a virtual halt in a protest against the Australian
government's support of the war. With Britain, Australia is the only
country to support the United States with combat troops.
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Scattered rallies against the United States took place in Indonesia,
Malaysia, Taiwan and Pakistan, where the government said it "deplored" the
action against Iraq. Security forces threw a heavy guard around foreign
buildings and churches to prevent a repetition of the Islamic militant
backlash that killed 74 people in the wake of the U.S.-led attacks on
Afghanistan in 2001.
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Other demonstrations took place in the United States. Protesters chained
themselves together in San Francisco and tried to block streets. Hundreds
of police officers in riot gear fanned out to keep streets open. The police
detained dozens of demonstrators, adding to some 250 arrests in recent
days. Demonstrators shut down a bridge in Washington, disrupting traffic
from Virginia.
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In Canada, where Prime Minister Jean Chretien has questioned the war,
demonstrators marched outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto yelling, "Shame
to the USA," and "U.S., U.K., how many kinds have you killed today?" Police
in some cities clash with thousands of demonstrators, including many students
PARIS Protests swelled around the world from Stockholm to Srinagar and San
Francisco on Thursday as the United States and Britain launched military
action in Iraq.
.
Virtually all the protests were directed against President George W. Bush
and the United States rather than the Iraqi regime.
http://www.iht.com/articles/90535.html
