[Imc-radio] Possible Headline Material RE: 2/15/03

[Paul Kotheimer]

Chicago Indymedia estimates that the 8 to 12 million people who
demonstrated worldwide in opposition to the impending war on Iraq on
Saturday constitute the single largest mobilization against war in
history.  Here are just a few reports from over 600 actions which took
place in cities around the globe:

In Auckland, Australia a march of 8 to 10 thousand people was lead by an
Iraqi nun and a samba band.

In Budapest, Hungary, about 3000 gathered to form a "Peace Chain" across
the river Donau.  

At Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, dozens of activists donned white jumpsuits and
powder blue helmets and marched to the gates of the U.S. Naval base to
demand a weapons inspection.  "Jugglers for Peace," on stilts and in
glitzy outfits, walked among the crowd of about 600 in Hilo, Hawaii.

In KualaLumpur, Malaysia, demonstrators carried a banner which read "Drop
Bush Not Bombs."

In Sarajevo, a city still scarred by Bosnia's civil war of 1992-to-1995,
around 500 protesters marched on the US embassy to mark their opposition
to the conflict.

In the Bosnian city of Mostar, about a hundred Muslims and Croats united
for an anti-war protest -- the first such cross-community action in seven
years in a place where ethnic divisions here remain tense despite the 1995
Bosnian peace agreement.

"We want to say that war is evil and that we who survived one know that
better than anyone," said Majda Hadzic, 54.

In divided Cyprus, about 500 Greeks and Turks braved heavy rain for a
march which briefly blocked the end of a runway at a British air base.

Several hundreds accompanied a black coffin through the streets of Moscow
calling for no war in Iraq as well as a stop to the war in Chechnya.

In one of the largest demonstrations in Irish history, over 100,000 people
marched in Dublin against the Bush administration's rush to war on Iraq.
Protestors from every part of Ireland representing hundreds of groups came
to Dublin to voice their opposition to war and to the continued use of
Shannon Airport by the US military. Crowds were diverse, cheerful,
creative and peaceful as the sunshine encouraged a carnival atmosphere.
Only one arrest was reported.

As many as 500,000 peace activists rallied in New York City despite a
court order banning large marches as a threat to security.  There were
clowns with blue wigs.  There were drummers banging on 30 gallon steel
washtubs.  Cops erected makeshift cattle pens to keep demonstrators from
amassing in Dag Hammarskjld square. Demonstrators were gassed and over 300
were arrested. 

In Hollywood, California, an aerial photograph of the march documents over
100,000 in the streets.  Demonstrations included several protesters
dressed as super-heroes as well as a stage presentation entitled This is
What War Looks Like.

Activities in Tokyo, Japan, included appearances by survivors of the 1945
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In Mexico City, street theater, Arab belly dancers, mimes, and Brasilian
music shared the streets with the bull horns and bright flags of various
political parties.  An IMC report under the pen name Sam Soledad
speculates that Saturday's demonstration was the largest turnout in
opposition to a U.S. foreign policy issue in that city's history. 

Among the estimated 2.5 million protesters in the streets of Rome were
seen thousands upon thousands of rainbow flags as well as a banner-sized
reproduction of Picasso's Guernica.

The Rainbow Flag was also seen on the streets of Oslo, Norway, where
approximately 60,000 protesters were in the streets. 

Reproductions from Guernica were sported as picket-mounted posters in the
streets of San Diego, California.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, banners reading "Stop Mad Cowboy Disease"
were raised alongside this quote from Albert Einstein:  "I know not with
what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought
with sticks and stones."
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