February 15 2003 anti-war protest: Encyclopedia II - February 15 2003 anti-war protest - Europe

February 15 2003 anti-war protest - Europe

Demonstrations took place across Europe and some of the largest drawing attendance figures in the tens of thousands in many cities. Approximately one-fifth of the total demonstrators worldwide protested in Europe.

February 15 2003 anti-war protest - Western Europe

Britain's Stop the War Coalition (StWC) held a protest in London which became the largest demonstration in the city's history. Police estimated attendance at 750,000 people; the demonstration's organisers estimated that around 2 million attended.

The StWC, who had previously held a series of demonstrations and rallies against the Afghanistan war and the upcoming Iraq war, called for a national demonstration in London for February 15, the agreed-upon international day of protest. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) and the Muslim Association of Britain joined the StWC for this event.

In the lead-up to February 15, the StWC was organising the march from a small office donated by the National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education. As the day approached, it became clear to the organisers that this event would be much larger than any previous rally, so it was agreed that the march would start from two separate locations; Thames Embankment for Londoners and those travelling in from the south, and Gower Street for those travelling in from the midlands and the north. The plan was for the two marches to merge at Piccadilly Circus and then proceed to a rally at Hyde Park.^[9][10]

The negotiations for this plan faltered when government Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Tessa Jowell instructed the Royal Parks Agency to deny permission for the rally in Hyde Park - ostensibly for safety reasons and to protect the grass ^[11]. This hitch in the StWC’s plans was resolved when, after failure to agree on an alternative venue and much pressure from the StWC, this decision was reversed.

The demonstration gained widespread support. It was backed by the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone who used his position to help sort out the administrative issues. Previously the British press had taken a low view of the newsworthiness of demonstrations, with The Guardian claiming to have a general policy not to cover them. However, sections of the media came over to support this demonstration. The Daily Mirror was most enthusiastic, not only giving large coverage in the lead up to the march but giving financial sponsorship to the demonstration, providing thousands of placards. The demonstration also received sponsorship support from Greenpeace and Mecca-Cola.^[6]

As the march drew near it was generally accepted that it was going to be very large. The BBC was predicting that around 500,000 people would attend, while the StWC was hoping for numbers to top the symbolically significant million mark.^[12]

On the day of the protest the weather was grey but people were in high spirits even as London became gridlocked and protesters were stuck for hours at Gower Street and Embankment. Hundreds of coaches brought protesters from 250 cities across the UK^[13], with around 100 coaches coming from Wales alone^[14]. Many commentators noted the diversity of those attending the march. Euan Ferguson noted in The Observer that:

"[As well as the] usual suspects - CND, Socialist Workers Party, the anarchists … There were nuns. Toddlers. Women barristers. The Eton George Orwell Society. Archaeologists Against War. Walthamstow Catholic Church, the Swaffham Women's Choir and Notts County Supporters Say Make Love Not War (And a Home Win against Bristol would be Nice). They won 2-0, by the way. One group of SWP stalwarts were joined, for the first march in any of their histories, by their mothers. There were country folk and lecturers, dentists and poulterers, a hairdresser from Cardiff and a poet from Cheltenham." ^[15]

All police leave in the capital was cancelled for the event, though Scotland Yard later said that it passed off almost without incident.^[16]

The fashion model Kate Moss and designer Alexander McQueen led a group of protesters from the fashion world^[9]. Also among protesters was the graffiti artist Banksy, who produced placards for the demonstration with the slogan 'Wrong War'. (Ref: Wall and Piece, Bansky, ISBN 1844137864)

Protesters who managed to reach Hyde Park in time heard various speakers, including George Galloway, Tony Benn, Bianca Jagger and Charles Kennedy, however many protesters missed out. Those that had to get coaches back to their home locations had to abandon the march before it had finished and protesters at back end of the march who did stay on did not reach Hyde Park until hours after the speakers and performers had all finished.

Because of the size of the march, it is hard to estimate the number of people in attendance. It is probably safe to say that the march was the largest ever political demonstration in the UK and the biggest taking to the streets since V-E day[17]. Some have speculated that the low police figure of 750,000 people does not account for the fact that many people did not complete the entire march. An ICM poll for The Guardian (14 February-16 February 2002) found that 6% of people had claimed that someone from their household intended to go, or went on the march. The StWC claims that this translates into 1.25 million households, and as such, assuming that more than one person could come from each household, this supports the estimate of two million people.^[18]

In addition to the demonstrations in London, the United Kingdom also saw protests in Scotland. Anti-war activists planned a demonstration in Glasgow which would end at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC) where the Labour Party was holding a conference for party members. The Labour Party requested that the SECC refuse permission for a stage and PA system outside the conference hall. In response to this the Scottish Socialist Party MSP Tommy Sheridan tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament to allow the event to take place, condemning what he claimed were attempts to "stifle all opposition to warmonger Blair". The Labour Party was unsuccessful in blocking the demonstrators' plans. Tony Blair was due to give a speech at the same time as the protesters would have arrived outside the conference centre, but the speech was rescheduled to an earlier time to avoid this.^[19]

On the day more than 50,000 people (Guardian estimate) joined the march, which started at Glasgow Green. By the time the front of the march had travelled the two miles to the SECC, Blair had delivered his speech and had left the area. One protester was quoted as saying "We've chased him out of town." ^[20]

In Ireland, between 80,000 (police estimate), 90,000 (BBC estimate), 100,000 (The Guardian estimate) and 150,000 (SW estimate) turned out in Dublin for a march that was only expected to draw roughly 20,000 people. The march went from Parnell Square, passed the Department of Foreign Affairs at St. Stephen's Green, to the Dame Street for a rally where popular Irish folk singer Christy Moore, Kila and Fianna Fáil politician Mary Coughlan were among many speakers from the platform. The march disrupted traffic for more than four hours. Protesters demanded that the Irish government stop allowing the United States military to use Ireland's Shannon Airport as a transatlantic stop-off point in bringing soldiers to the Middle East.^[21]

In Belfast, Northern Ireland 10,000 (The Guardian estimate) to 20,000 (SW estimate) protesters from across the sectarian divide, joined a demonstration. The demonstration started at the Arts College at 2:30pm and moved through that Royal Avenue towards Belfast City Hall. Prominent politicians from Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the centrist Alliance Party joined the protest, Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams spoke from the platform at the end rally saying "If President Bush and Mr Blair want war, it should be war against poverty and for equality.". There was also a rally in Newry in County Down attending by hundreds of protesters (BBC estimate). ^{[22] [23] [24]}

The biggest demonstration of the global day of protest took place in Italy in Rome. 30 trains were specially chartered to bring people to the demonstration which was organised under the slogan "Stop the war; no ifs or buts". The organisers were shocked at the size of the turn out and the demonstration had to set off two hours early because of the unexpected amount of people.^[4]. 650,000 people (police estimate) took place in a final rally at which there were many international speakers including Kurds, Iraqi dissidents, Palestinians, a representative of the American Council of Christian Churches and an Israeli conscientious objector who address the crowd from a stage hung with Pablo Picasso's famous Guernica painting which is widely regarded as anti-war in statement. Because of the size of the demonstration the majority of demonstrators couldn't make it into the final rally and three million people (according to the organisers and agreed upon by the Guinness Book of World Records) in total were on the streets taking part in what was listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history.^[3]. According to the Green Left Weekly, the demonstration contained people from across Italian society; "Catholic nuns and priests marched alongside young people with dreadlocks, nose rings and Palestinian scarves. Christians, anarchists and communists mingled"^[15].

In France there were demonstrations in somewhere between 20 cities (Observer estimate) and 80 cities (WSWS estimate), organisers estimate that over half a million marched in total. The biggest demonstration took place in Paris where around 100,000 (USA Today estimate) to 200,000 (WSWS estimate) people marched through the streets, ending at with a rally at the Place de la Bastille which is a historically significant venue for demonstrations because of its role in the French Revolution. [25] ^{[19] [26]} There was also a demonstration in Toulouse of around 10,000 people.[27]

In Germany coaches brought people from over 300 German towns to Berlin to join a demonstration of 300,000 (police estimate) to 500,000 (organizers' estimate) people; the largest demonstration that had occurred in Berlin for several decades. ^{[20] [28]}. Protesters, amongst whose ranks were members of the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroder, filled the boulevard between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column. ^{[2] [29]} ATTAC Germany's spokesperson Malte Keutzseldt was reported in The Guardian as praising the broadness of the demonstration saying that "The churches and trade unions have linked to make the coalition far broader than even the anti-nuclear missile marches in the 1980s"^[15]

In the Czech Republic there was a small demonstration in Prague of around 500 people (USA Today estimate). Czech philosopher Erazim Kohak addressed the crowd saying "War is not a solution, war is a problem,"[30]

Spain saw massive demonstrations in around 55 cities and towns across the country[31], the largest was probably in the capital city Madrid where approximately 2 million (GLW estimate) (660,000 Government source’s estimate) took part in a protest. Probably the biggest demonstration since the death of the fascist dictator Gen. Francisco Franco in 1975[32]. Barcelona also had a huge protest with approximately 1.3 million people (Barcelona city hall and Police estimate) (1.5 million GLW estimate) (350,000 Delegación de Gobierno estimate)^[33] joining a demonstration which moved from the Passeig de Gràcia to the Plaça de Tetuan. Spain also had demonstrations of approximately 500,000 in Valenciain (GLW estimate), 250,000 in Seville(GLW estimate) (200,000 Government sources estimate), 100,000 in Los Palmas (GLW estimate) and 100,000 in Cadiz (GLW estimate) as well as over fifty other towns and cities across the country (WSWS estimate).^[21]

The island of Malta saw around 1,000 demonstrators (SW estimate) join a protest. The weather was cold and rainy. After the demonstration an anti-war concert was held in the capital, Valletta. ^[20]

In the Nordic countries the cold weather did not stop protests taking place. Norway saw its biggest series of protests since 1917. The biggest took place in its capital Oslo were more then 60,000 protesters (Police estimate and Socialist Worker estimate) joining a demonstration. Protests of around 15,000 took place in Bergen and Trondheim, and 10,000 in Stavanger. Small protests also took place in at least 30 towns across the country. At the rally in Oslo the vice-chair of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions(LO) spoke from the platform claiming that "Bush only cares about American oil interests" ^[11]. In Denmark 20,000 to 30,000 protesters (WSWS estimate) took part in a march in the capital city, Copenhagen^[21] and Sweden in 35,000 demonstrated in Stockholm.[34]

The Benelux countries, where it was also very cold, also had large demonstrations for their total population size. In Belgium organisers had expected around 30,000 people to attend a demonstration in Brussels its capital city which is the home of the European Parliament, and they were shocked by a turn out of approximately 100,000 people (WSWS and GLW estimate). The march took over 3 hours to cross the city.^[15]. In Luxembourg, approximately 14,000 people demonstrated^{[citation needed]} and the Netherlands saw around 70,000 (USA Today estimate) to 75,000 people (WSWS estimate) protest in Amsterdam^[21][35]. This was the countries largest demonstration since the anti-nuclear campaigns of the 1980s.[36]

This level of protest was also apparent in two of the three Alpine countries. In Austria, 30,000 people (SW estimate) took to the streets of its capital, Vienna^[20] as well as an amazing turnout in the small Asturian city of Oviedowhich had a turnout of 100,000 even though its total population was only 180,000 ^[37]. In Switzerland in order to "concentrate the movement" most activists agreed to organise a single demonstration for the whole country in Bern. On the day roughly 40,000 people joined the protest in front of the Bundeshaus, the seat of the Swiss federal government and parliament. The demonstration, which ran under the slogan "Nein zum Krieg gegen Irak - Kein Blut für Öl!" (No to war in Iraq - no blood for oil!) was the largest in Switzerland since 1945 ^[38].

February 15 2003 anti-war protest - Eastern Europe

Eastern Europe also saw protests. Bosnia and Herzegovina saw around 100 protesters gather in Mostar. This protest spanned the sectarian divide with both Muslims and Croats attending^[21]. There were also protests in Croatia where 10,000 people (WSWS estimate) took part in a protest in the capital city of Zagreb. Croatia also saw protests in Osijek, Vukovar, Knin, Zadar, Sibenik, Split and Dubrovnik. ^[21] In the Czech Republic, over 1,000 people joined a rally at Jan Palach Square in Prague. Protesters listened to music and speeches before marching to the Czech government building, where they submitted petitions. The march continued to the US embassy.^[20]

There was a demonstration in Budapest, Hungary, of 60,000 (SW estimate)^[4] and a demonstration in Warsaw, Poland of 10,000 people (SW estimate). The Warsaw demonstration marched through central Warsaw and passed the US embassy.

Small demonstrations also took place in Serbia, where there was a demonstration of 200 people (WSWS estimate) in the capital city of Belgrade^[21], and Russia which had several demonstrations the largest accruing in Moscow, with 400 people (WSWS estimate) in attendance^[21].

There was also a demonstration in Ukraine of around 2,000 people (USA Today estimate) joined a "Rock against the war" rally Kiev's central square.[39]

February 15 2003 anti-war protest - Southeastern Europe

Other parts of Europe, some times referred to as Southeastern Europe, also saw protests.

The main demonstration in Turkey took place in Istanbul, thousands (SW estimate) demonstrated. The local authorities had banned the protest claiming to have worries about national security, however the protest organisers went ahead with the rally under the cover of calling a press conference[40].

Before the rally there were many arrests and supporters of the march have accused the police of targeting "dark looking people" with the aim of stopping Kurds, many carrying placards referring to the Kurdish issue, from attending the demonstration[41]. Kurds made up around half of the demonstration and most were demonstrating both against the war and against Turkish treatment of Kurds. When the rally finished all those who had spoken from the platform were arrested then later released without charge. This included two stars of one of Turkey's most popular TV comedy show who had announced on the previous Friday night episode of their show that they would be attending the demonstration.

Turkey also saw demonstrations in Adana, Ankara, Izmir, Zonguldak, Izmit, Antalya and Mugla^[20]

In Athens, Greece, 150,000 people (WSWS estimate) demonstrated. The protest was generally peaceful, but a small group clashed with police. The police fired tear gas at the group some of whom threw rocks and petrol bombs. Police reported that the trouble was down to a group of anarchists who had split off from the main demonstration. ^[22]

Cyprus saw a demonstration of from 500 (USA Today estimate) to more than 800 people (SW estimate) at the British army base in Dhekelia. Enduring heavy rain protesters briefly blocked the base. They then marched to Pyla village where they watched other demonstrations occurring across the world on a giant screen. The demonstration was mostly attended by Greek Cypriots but they were joined by some Turkish Cypriots ^[120] [42].

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Europe", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki