Demanding an end to threats of an "unjustified" war against Iraq, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered in cities across Europe, the US and beyond for a show of opposition to US President George W. Bush's policy toward Baghdad.
In Berlin, crowds of people brandishing placards that declared "War on the imperialist war," "Stop Bush's campaign" and "No blood for oil," along with a few Iraqi and Palestinian flags, converged Saturday on the downtown Alexanderplatz square and marched past the German Foreign Ministry.
Police estimated that up to 8,000 people took part in damp, windy weather, while organizers put the number at 30,000. No trouble was reported.
Some 2,000 people turned out in Frankfurt, and hundreds in Stuttgart, Hamburg, and Bremen, according to police, while another 1,500 rain-soaked demonstrators gathered under umbrellas outside the US Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark and more than 1,000 hit the streets in Stockholm, Sweden. The marches were planned by anti-war activists to coincide with protests in Washington and San Francisco.
In the US capital, tens of thousands of anti-war protesters circled the White House after the Reverend Jesse Jackson and other speakers denounced the Bush administration's Iraq policies and demanded a revolt at the ballot box to promote peace.
"If we launch a pre-emptive strike on Iraq we lose all moral authority," Jackson told the chanting, cheering throng spread out on green lawns near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
On a nearby street corner, a handful of Iraqi-Americans staged a counterdemonstration. Aziz al-Taee, spokesman for the Iraqi-American Council, said, "I think America is doing just fine. ... We think every day Saddam stays in power, he kills more Iraqis."
Closely watched by police in anti-riot gear, a few thousand people marched in downtown Rome in a protest that also was attended by some opposition politicians. Two police helicopters hovered above the marchers.
"We're aware that war and terrorism feed each other," Paolo Cento, a lawmaker for Italy's Greens party, said of his opposition to a war against Iraq.
As many as 5,000 people gathered in the rain in Amsterdam's central square, with banners including one that read: "The biggest lunatic isn't in Baghdad, he's in Washington."
"The people of Iraq must decide their future," said demonstrator Renas Arif, an Iraqi living in the Netherlands, who said he opposed both Saddam and a strike against him.
In Baghdad itself, American anti-war activists protested in front of UN offices, urging the UN Security Council not to give Bush a blank check for war against Iraq. Six members of the Chicago-based Voices in the Wilderness raised banners including "Drop sanctions not bombs."
In Tokyo, about 300 Japanese staged a "peace walk," holding up placards urging governments to "stop the war before it starts."
The United States, backed by Britain, wants tough new rules for UN weapons inspections and a declaration from the Security Council that Iraq faces "serious consequences" if it fails to comply.
However, Russia wants to stick as closely as possible to current inspection rules and eliminate any language that could allow an attack on Baghdad.
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