Protests against the Iraq War: Difference between revisions

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Thousands of small and large global protests against war in general or war on Iraq were held in 2003, voicing popular opposition to war on Iraq

February 15 protest attendance
Barcelona	1,300,000
Rome	1,000,000
London	≥750,000
Madrid	≥660,000
Berlin	≥500,000
Sydney	250,000†
Seville	≥200,000
Damascus	200,000
Montreal	150,000
Melbourne	150,000†
Paris	100,000
New York	≥100,000
Oviedo	100,000
Dublin	100,000
Glasgow	80,000
San Francisco	65,000†
Oslo	60,000
Brussels	50,000
Bern	40,000
Stockholm	35,000
Copenhagen	25,000
Vancouver	20,000
Helsinki	15,000
Vienna	15,000
Toronto	10,000
Amsterdam	10,000
Auckland	10,000
Austin	10,000
Cape Town	10,000
Johannesburg	10,000
Tokyo	5,000
Quebec City	3,000
Dhaka	2,000
Ottawa	2,000
Kiev	2,000
Chicoutimi	1,500
(Total of above figures)	≥6,000,000
† : 14th or 16th February
Source: The Globe and Mail and others

On January 18, demonstrations against war in general or the expected war in Iraq in particular took place in villages, towns, and cities around the world, including Tokyo, Moscow, Paris, London, Dublin, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Cologne, Bonn, Gothenburg, Florence, Oslo, Rotterdam, Istanbul and Cairo. NION and ANSWER held anti-war protests in Washington D.C. and San Francisco, California. In San Francisco, between 150,000 and 200,000 people attended the demonstration. The San Francisco police had originally estimated the crowd size at 55,000, but admitted later that they had badly underestimated the number and changed their estimate to 150,000.

Much larger protests in over 600 cities on February 15 drew millions of protesters in total. In Rome one million people were on the streets in one of the Italian capital's largest ever mass demonstrations. In London, estimates of the number of marchers varied from 750,000 to over 1.5 million, the largest demonstration in the city's history. In Berlin there were half a million in the largest demonstration for some decades. There were also protest marches all over France as well as in many other European cities, drawing attendance figures in the tens of thousands per city. In Ireland, one hundred thousand turned out in Dublin, for a parade that was originally expected to draw one fifth that number. Protesters demanded that the Irish government ban the United States military from continue to use Ireland's Shannon Airport as a trans-atlantic stop-off point bringing soldiers to the Middle East.

In Spain, Barcelona city hall and the Guardia Civil cited 1.3 million protesters, marching from the Passeig de Gràcia to the Plaça de Tetuan [1], though the Delegación de Gobierno said 350,000. Government sources estimated protests at 660,000 in Madrid. The small Asturian city of Oviedo (pop. 180,000) had a turnout of 100,000. [2]

Protests were held in Australia (the previous day), South Africa, Syria, India, Russia, South Korea, Japan, Canada, and the USA, among many other countries. Hundreds of thousands turned out in New York City, near the United Nations Building. More than one hundred thousand people protested in Montreal despite wind-chill temperatures of below -30°C.

In San Francisco, a protest was held on February 16. Protest organizers and police agreed that the crowd count at 200,000. A San Francisco Chronicle photographic investigation, on the other hand, estimated that the number at the peak period was closer 65,000, although it did not say how many people attended during the entire time of the demonstration. [3] This dispute highlights the continuing debate over the accuracy of crowd estimates in large public demonstrations.

In Baghdad several thousand Iraqis - many carrying Kalashnikov rifles - also joined with the global protests.

Protests continued on February 16 in Australia, with 600,000 demonstrating in cities around the country.

On March 3 (2003-03-03) the Lysistrata theater project [4] plans to have more than 700 readings in 42 countries of Aristophanes' anti-war comedy Lysistrata.

External links

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 Protests continued on February 16 in [[Australia]], with 600,000 demonstrating in cities around the country.
-On '''[[March 3]]''' (2003-03-03) the Lysistrata theater project [http://www.pecosdesign.com/lys/] plans to have more than 600 readings in 40 countries of [[Aristophanes|Aristophanes']] anti-war comedy <i>[[Lysistrata]]</i>.
+On '''[[March 3]]''' (2003-03-03) the Lysistrata theater project [http://www.pecosdesign.com/lys/] plans to have more than 700 readings in 42 countries of [[Aristophanes|Aristophanes']] anti-war comedy <i>[[Lysistrata]]</i>.
 == See also ==