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Thousands Hold Anti-War Demonstration |
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Written by Al Alam News
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Monday, 17 March 2008 |
Thousands of anti-war protesters have marched in Britain, the United States
and Canada to mark the fifth anniversary of the start of the war in Iraq.
They took to the streets in London and the Scottish city of Glasgow, demanding
that British troops pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan.
A spokesman for the 'Stop The War' coalition, which organized the marches, says
five years after the invasion of Iraq, the world had become "a much more
dangerous place."
"Estimates suggest as many as one million people have died violent deaths as a
result of the occupation of Iraq," spokesman Paul Collins said.
He said Prime Minister Gordon Brown was sending more troops to Afghanistan and
claimed "this hidden war is fast becoming a disaster mirroring Iraq."
Organizers estimated that the London march had attracted up to 40,000
protesters, although police put the figure at 10,000.
In Glasgow the demonstration attracted several hundred protesters.
Another protest in the United States has drawn thousands of people, led by
veterans from various conflicts, holding coffins draped with the US flag.
Police said about 2,000 protesters, most of them young, marched down Hollywood
Boulevard in Los Angeles, denouncing President George W Bush and calling for an
end to the conflict.
Organizers put the figure at 10,000, and hope several California politicians and
actors will gather for the final part of the march on Sunset Boulevard.
The Australian branch of the 'Stop The War' Coalition is planning a
demonstration in Sydney today.
In Canada, Anti-war protesters took to the streets and vented their anger at the
Conservatives and Liberals Saturday.
They held rallies across Canada against the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and
Iraq, and shouted their opposition to Canada's decision to keep its military in
the country until at least 2011.
Demonstrators organized protests in 20 communities, including Montreal, Toronto,
Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver.
The sizes of the crowds varied from location to location, with cities like
Montreal and Toronto having protesters numbering in the hundreds. Other sites,
such as Halifax, had only a few dozen demonstrators.
In Calgary, some protesters wore two hats. One minute they were demonstrating
against seal hunters. But minutes later they swapped their placards for anti-war
signs.
Source: Al Alam News
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