WORLDWIDE DEMONSTRATIONS - ACTIONS IN 37 COUNTRIES PROTEST U.S. PLANS FOR WAR
Compiled by the International Action Center
January 20, 2003--Demonstrators in at least 38 countries demanded "No war on Iraq" on Jan. 18 in response to a call for international solidarity actions to coincide with mass rallies and marches in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco organized by the International ANSWER coalition.
The Dec. 18-19 Cairo Conference supported this initiative and the Asian Peace Forum, the Stop the War Committee in England and other anti-war organizations spread the call.
The tremendous response of solidarity actions worldwide, with the massive turnouts in Washington and San Francisco, dealt a major blow to the Pentagon war machine.
Canada had demonstrations in 30 cities from coast to coast: 15,000 were reported in Vancouver, 25,000 in Mon treal, 15,000 in Toronto, thousands in in Saskatoon and smaller actions elsewhere.
Montreal--credit: Indymedia
In Mexico, mobilizations against the war and the embargo on Iraq took place in Mexico City and at the international bridge near Ciudad Juárez and Chihuahua, where U.S. groups met Mexican protesters.
In Argentina, a thousand people led by the Mothers of the Plaza del Mayo marched to the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires on Jan. 16.
March in Argentina, January 16, 2003
Mobilizations in other Latin American countries included Peru, Ecuador, Guatemala and Brazil.
Middle East, South Asia
The main demonstration in Turkey took place in Ankara, where demonstrators gathered in front of a theater showing the latest James Bond film. There was also a demonstration in Istanbul.
In most of the Middle East, as in Turkey, protesters faced an army of heavily armed riot police. Thousands of demonstrators in Beirut, Lebanon, carried Palestinian and Iraqi flags.
Tens of thousands of Syrians marched through the streets of Dam ascus, blocking traffic for hours, shouting, "Down with the United States!" The Damascus marchers carried banners reading: "Iraq: a history and a civilization, not an oil well."
Damascus--Credit: Indymedia
About 1,000 demonstrators protested in central Cairo, Egypt, against any U.S.-led strike on Iraq. The demonstrators called on the Egyptian government to prevent U.S. and British warships from using the Suez Canal en route for a possible assault on Iraq.
Cairo--credit: Indymedia
Others in the Arab world joined the international effort by demonstrating in Gaza and Nablus in Palestine, in Amman, Jordan and in Bahrain. In Amman, hundreds of protesters in the mostly Palestinian Nuzha district burned U.S., British and Israeli flags.
A protest in Baghdad, Iraq, commemorated the beginning of the Gulf War 12 years ago.
Demonstrators in Lahore, Pakistan, had to face soldiers and police as they tried to march to the U.S. Embassy. Young students and human rights activists marched in the eastern city of Lahore, while others gathered in the southern city of Karachi and in Rawalpindi.
Near Islamabad, hundreds of children, women and men formed a human chain and chanted slogans.
In India, workers were called out by communist organizations in demonstrations against the Iraq war. Protesters burned an effigy of George W. Bush.
East Asia and Pacific Islands
A series of demonstrations in the Philippines protested both the war on Iraq and Washington's attempt to reoccupy Philippine military bases.
In Japan, thousands demonstrated in Tokyo, Osaka, Nagasaki, Hiroshima, Okinawa and other cities on Jan. 18-19. Carry ing toy guns stuffed with flowers and holding banners aloft, anti-war demonstrators marched through downtown Tokyo's central shopping district. "We want to unite with people all over the world on the same issue," said Takashi Uchiyama.
Tokyo--credit: Indymedia
Some 400 protesters turned out in the New Zealand city of Christchurch.
In Hong Kong, China, about 60 people chanted, "Inspections, yes! War, no!" and "Yankee, go home!" as they marched through the financial district to the U.S. and British consulates.
Demonstrations were also scheduled in Indonesia, Switzerland, Hungary and South Korea.
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