sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/03/20/international1233EST0513.DTL
Anti-war demonstrators held a huge rally in Rome, where organizers said up to 2 million people turned out and police estimated 250,000. Some 150,000 people demonstrated in Barcelona, Spain, city hall officials reported. France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and other European countries also saw protests, while earlier demonstrations took place in Japan, Australia and India. In the Philippines, protesters clashed with riot police, although no injuries were reported. Anti-American feelings ran high in Egypt, where demonstrators in Cairo - vastly outnumbered by riot police - burned United States flags. Hundreds of people gathered in other Middle Eastern capitals to denounce the war. I thought the war was illegal, and we need to all show our feelings about that, said Neil Andrew, 57, a builder demonstrating in London. They should hand control over to the United Nations, but I dont think that will happen. Londons Metropolitan Police estimated that some 25,000 people took part in the rally between Hyde Park and Trafalgar Square in the center of the British capital. Early Saturday morning, two anti-war demonstrators wearing climbing gear scaled the Big Ben clock tower at the Houses of Parliament and held up a small banner that read Time for Truth before coming down several hours later. Police said they would review security at Parliament following the incident. British Prime Minister Tony Blair was the United States staunchest ally in the war. But many Britons opposed the invasion and questions about the conflicts legality have dogged the government as coalition forces have failed to find Saddam Husseins alleged weapons of mass destruction. In Italy, anti-war activists jammed the streets of central Rome, many of them decked out in rainbow-colored peace flags and chanting assassins. Protesters demanded that Italy withdraw its 2,600 troops from Iraq. The center-right government of Premier Silvio Berlusconi was a strong supporter of the war, even though most Italians opposed it. Paolo Quadrardi, 42, a mechanic, said the Madrid train bombings that killed 202 people March 11 showed that war doesnt do anything but increase terrorism. Many Spaniards have accused Spains conservative government of provoking the attacks by supporting the Iraq war. The ruling Popular Party suffered a surprising loss to the Socialists in general elections last weekend. The Socialists on Saturday repeated their intention to withdraw Spains 1,300 troops from Iraq unless the United Nations takes charge in the Mideast nation. Thousands of protesters marched in an evening rally in Madrid that featured a large banner with a black sash, Spains symbol of mourning for the rail bombings. But the numbers paled in comparison to the millions that packed streets all over Spain after the attack. While turnout was high in some nations, the protests were all far smaller than the enormous demonstrations held around the world shortly before the war began last year. In New York, several thousand people demonstrated and protests were also planned around America in cities including Chicago, Seattle and San Francisco. Some Americans joined about 2,500 protesters in Paris, where demonstrators blared a rendition of the John Lennon song Give Peace a Chance through loudspeakers. In Berlin, about 1,600 people attended a rally while in western Germany some 2,000 activists met outside a United States military base. George Bush did not wage a war against terror, veteran peace activist Franz Alt told protesters gathered outside the Ramstein Air Base. More than 10,000 people marched to the United States Embassy in Athens, Greece, while some 3,000 took to the streets of Amsterdam. Rallies also took place in Belgium, Norway, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Poland, Finland, Ukraine, Denmark, Jordan, Bahrain, India, Australia, South Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong, New Zealand and South Africa. As many as 30,000 people turned out in Tokyo to protest Japans involvement in the war, organizers there said. The country has sent 1,000 personnel to Iraq, its largest foreign deployment since the Second World War. In Turkey, one of Iraqs neighbors, about 2,000 anti-American demonstrators protested in Ankara and Istanbul before dispersing peacefully amid tight security. In Sana, Yemen, where authorities had banned a demonstration, opposition parties and union members held a sit-in outside parliament and issued a statement condemning the government. About 500 anti-war protesters who tried to push their way to the United States Embassy in the Philippine capital, Manila, briefly scuffled with riot police.
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