[Peace-discuss] Fwd: Florence: 300,000 Anti-War Demonstrators + nuclear & BWC stuff

[Margaret E. Kosal]

When I was in Rome in October (for a scientific conference) and speaking 
informally with some of my Italian colleagues, they were fairly surprised 
to hear me, as an American, express anti-war sentiments.

Tangentially: this week in Washington is the Carnegie International 
non-proliferation conference, high-power/high-visibility group with fairly 
narrow focus on nuclear issues: 
http://www.ceip.org/files/projects/npp/resources/2002conference/home.htm

Next week, in Geneva, is the 5th Review Conference of the Biological 
Weapons Convention http://disarmament.un.org/wmd/bwc/fifth/index.html. John 
Bolton,  the US Undersecretary of Defense, made known his lack of support 
in general for strengthening the verification and monitoring protocols of 
the treaty long ago.  This August, he specifically indicated his intention 
to do nothing more than set a date for the next meeting at the November 
mtg.  Their is no indication that his views have changed.

"Hungarian Ambassador Tibor Toth plans to introduce a proposal to end the 
conference within a few days or even hours after it begins Monday, the U.N. 
source said. Toth's proposal postpones any discussion of verification 
measures until 2004 and calls for a new review conference timetable, with 
shorter meetings to be held every year instead of every five years (Agence 
France-Presse, Nov. 7)."

Namaste,
Margaret

>Tens of thousands of flag-waving, whistle-blowing protesters march
>through the streets of Florence November 9, 2002, to denounce a
>possible U.S.-led war against Iraq.
>
>Organizers estimated that some 300,000 people had joined the protest,
>and said they had to kick off the march an hour ahead of schedule
>because of the huge press of people building up in streets.
>
>------- Forwarded message follows -------
>
>http://www.abcnews.go.com/wire/World/reuters20021109_110.html
>
>
>Florence Flooded by Anti-War Demonstrators
>— By Luke Baker
>
>November 9, 2002
>
>FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of flag-waving, whistle-
>blowing protesters flooded Florence on Saturday, marching through the
>Renaissance city to denounce a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq.
>Fired with anti-Americanism and angered by a tough new United Nations
>resolution on Iraq, well over 150,000 people from across Europe
>joined the demonstration, holding aloft a sea of rainbow-colored,
>multi-lingual banners.
>
>Music blared from speakers, balloons drifted through the air and
>jugglers entertained the crowds, bringing a carnival-like atmosphere
>to what looked set to be the largest anti-war rally Italy has seen
>for years. "Take your war and go to hell," one banner read. "Another
>Europe is possible. No to War," said another. The march marked the
>climax of the first European Social Forum, which brought together
>anti-globalisation campaigners from across the continent for four
>days of talks and concerts. Organizers estimated that some 300,000
>people had joined the protest, and said they had to kick off the
>march an hour ahead of schedule because of the huge press of people
>building up in streets. The police gave no immediate estimates of
>numbers. "The atmsophere here is wonderful. Absolutely perfect. It
>shows that a new young left is emerging," said Stavos Valsamis, a 27-
>year-old Greek activist from Athens.
>
>SECURITY HEADACHE
>
>The march was one of the largest public safety challenges Italian
>authorities have faced since the G8 summit in Genoa last year, when
>300,000 demonstrators took to the streets and an orgy of violence
>left one protester dead and hundreds injured. Although some 7,000
>police were on call on Saturday, the security forces maintained an
>extremely low profile at the start of the protest, with most of their
>number held in reserve some distance from the 4.5 mile rally route.
>
>The rest of Florence was a ghost town with most shops in the art-rich
>historical center pulling down the shutters for fear of violence.
>However, the city's famed museums remained open and offered free
>entry to the few tourists around.
>
>The march was planned months ago, but organizers said it had been
>given added relevance by Friday's unanimous vote in the U.N. Security
>Council, which handed Iraq one last chance to disarm or face almost
>certain war.
>
>"We no longer have any illusions about institutions like the United
>Nations and their ability to help humanity," said Alain Krivine, a
>far-
>left French politician. He added that he was convinced the U.S. had
>already made up its mind to attack Iraq. "Marches alone won't
>stop wars, but this is quite literally a first step," he said.
>
>While Friday's U.N. resolution gives the Security Council a central
>role in assessing the new arms' inspection program for Iraq, it
>does not force the United States to seek council authorization for
>war in the case of violations.
>
>"It's a scandalous resolution," said Sean Murray, 29, a member of a
>group called the Workers' Revolution. photo credit and caption:
>
>Tens of thousands of flag-waving, whistle-blowing protesters march
>through the streets of Florence November 9, 2002, to denounce a
>possible U.S.-led war against Iraq. Fired with anti-Americanism and
>angered by a tough new United Nations resolution on Iraq, well over
>150,000 people from across Europe joined the demonstration, holding
>aloft a sea of rainbow-colored, multi-lingual banners.
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