WASHINGTON CAN'T DENY IT NOW: WORLD SAYS NO TO BUSH'S WAR
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 7DEFYING THE AUTHORITIES
In some countries where an anti-imperialist demonstration implicitly confronts the regime, demonstrators faced repression.
In Istanbul, Turkey, 10,000 people demonstrated against the U.S. war plans and the Turkish regime's plans to allow the U.S. to use bases in southeastern Turkey to launch air and ground attacks on Iraq. According to a participant, "police were brutal with the demonstrators, especially with the Kurds, and 1,000 were arrested." Other thousands demonstrated in Ankara.
Istanbul: credit- www.punchdown.org
In Egypt the Mubarak regime made a preemptive strike on the demonstration, arresting 13 of the organizers in the days before Feb. 15. A letter from former Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella and British anti-war leaders George Galloway and John Rees reports that 11 of the 13 were tortured while in custody; it asked for messages of protest to the Egyptian government.
Despite the repression, more than a thousand people openly protested in Cairo on Feb. 15, representing the vast majority of Egyptians.
Cairo: credit- www.punchdown.org
In Arab countries where the governments have spoken openly against a U.S. attack on Iraq, the popular protests were massive. Some 200,000 people demonstrated in Damascus, Syria. Over 100,000 Iraqis in Baghdad demonstrated their determination, rifles in hand, to defend their country against a U.S. invasion.
Bagdad: credit- www.punchdown.org
There were also protests in Bahrain, in Beirut, Lebanon, in Amman, Jordan, and in Ramallah and other cities of occupied Palestine. In Tel Aviv, some 2,000 Israelis and Palestinians marched together to demand no war on Iraq.
Though these protests were not as massive as those in Europe, North America and Australia, they represented strong anti-imperialist feelings in the masses and forced the regimes to act. On Feb. 16, a meeting of Arab League foreign ministers in Cairo began making proposals to avoid a war in the region.
The international day of protest also sparked actions in Lahore, Islamabad and other Pakistani cities as well as in Bombay, Delhi and Calcutta in India and in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
New Delhi: credit- www.punchdown.org
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