|
  |
|
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iraqi government praises ralliesLargest gatherings reported in London, Rome
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Iraq was gloating Sunday over the global outpouring of opposition to a possible U.S.-led war against the country, saying the rallies by millions of people signaled an Iraqi victory and "the defeat and isolation of America." In cities from Tokyo to Baghdad, Istanbul to Paris and New York to Wellington, the demonstrators Saturday called for peace a day after U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell told the U.N. Security Council that Iraq was defying U.N. resolutions over its weapons of mass destruction and must now face "serious consequences." Iraq's tightly controlled news media gave prominent coverage to the rallies with television stations showing footage of millions marching in the world's cities -- under the logo "International Day of Confronting the Aggression." "The world said with one voice: 'no to aggression on Iraq'," read a headline in the government daily Al-Jumhuriya. "The world rises against American aggression and the arrogance of naked force," read a front page headline in the army daily Al-Qadissiya, according to The Associated Press. "These demonstrations expressed in their spirit, meaning and slogans the decisive Iraqi victory and the defeat and isolation of America," Al-Jumhuriya said in a commentary. Iraq staged its own demonstrations on Saturday, when tens of thousands, many carrying assault rifles and portraits of Saddam Hussein, took to the streets of several cities to pledge their loyalty to the Iraqi leader in the face of U.S. threats to attack the Arab nation. "My message to the United States is that it should hear the voice of the international public opinion," Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz said Sunday, AP reported, before boarding a flight home from Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport after a three-day trip to Italy. (Full story) The largest antiwar demonstrations took place in London and in Rome. British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi are the chief European backers of President Bush's hardline policy on Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Sydney on Sunday to show their opposition to a U.S.-led attack against Iraq, continuing massive anti-war protests around the world that kicked off in Australia two days earlier. The scenes were repeated in the United States, with crowds of anti-war demonstrators jamming into downtown New York and other cities. (Full story) Reacting to the protests, White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo said: "One of the democratic values that we hold dear is the right of people to peacefully assemble and express their views." President Bush still hoped to disarm Saddam peacefully, she said. "The president views force as a last resort. He still hopes for a peaceful resolution and that is up to Saddam Hussein." The huge demonstration in London came on the same day Blair said he "would not shrink" from military action against Saddam but urged a resolution through the United Nations. (Full story) The protesters received a boost Friday when U.N chief weapons inspector Hans Blix gave a mixed report to the United Nations, giving hope that arms inspections in Iraq could begin to work better. (Full story) British police said at least 500,000 people converged on Hyde Park for a rally that included the Rev. Jesse Jackson, long-time peace activist Bianca Jagger and London Mayor Ken Livingstone. Organizers put the number of protesters at one million. Jagger, ex-wife of Rolling Stone Mick Jagger, told the protesters that while she could not "condone the human rights record of Saddam, there could be no justification for war. "There is no place in the U.N. charter that says that if a country, no matter how appalling that country is, that we can wage a war to overthrow the government," she said. "If we were to do that we will have anarchy in the world."
Jackson, a veteran U.S. civil-rights activist, warned that if a U.S.-led coalition attacks Iraq without the blessing of the United Nations, "we'll lose the moral authority to challenge China not to attack Taiwan, or Pakistan, India, or India, Pakistan." (Jackson: Not too late) In Rome, organizers said as many as million people took to the streets to demonstrate against the war, waving flags and carrying simple banners that said "No war." In Italy, as in Britain and many other countries in Europe and elsewhere, recent polls have shown strong opposition to war. Nearly all the marches were peaceful, though in Athens, Greece, riot police fired tear gas at demonstrators who threw stones and gasoline bombs when dozens of hooded protesters splintered from a main body of up to 50,000 demonstrators. A parked car was burned, but police said there were no arrests or reports of injuries. (Full story) Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators marched for peace in Germany and France, where the protesters share their antiwar position with their respective governments. German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder maintains that Iraq can be disarmed without military force and has said that Germany is unlikely to participate in any action against Iraq. His stance differs from France, which says that war could be acceptable, but only as a last resort. -- CNN Correspondents Richard Quest, Matthew Chance and Jim Bittermann contributed to this report Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
The world rises against American aggression and the arrogance of naked force
