Anti-war march brings Sydney to a halt

AUSTRALIA

Anti-war march brings Sydney to a halt
Posted Sun, 16 Feb 2003

Up to a quarter of a million demonstrators jammed the centre of Sydney on Sunday in the biggest of a series of nationwide weekend rallies in Australia in protest against war in Iraq.


The rally, organised by a coalition of left-wing activists, trade unions, church groups and pacifists, filled a city park and stretched for two kilometres around, making crowd estimates difficult.

Jubulant organisers claimed an attendance of 250 000 while police declined to give an estimate.

Thousands of Muslims marched shoulder-to-shoulder with local stars of stage and screen, people of all ages, race and political persuasion, many carrying banners and placards emblazoned with the same plea for peace.

Organisers claimed another 100 000 protesters turned out in Brisbane, similar numbers in Adelaide and thousands more in Darwin after rallies in other state capitals on Friday and Saturday.

Police estimated that more than 100 000 people brought Melbourne's city centre to a halt on Friday in one of the biggest rallies ever seen in the south-eastern city.

Prime Minister John Howard, one of the staunchest supporters of US President George W. Bush's campaign to disarm Iraq, arrived home on Sunday after visiting the United States, Britain and Indonesia for talks on the Iraq crisis.

Howard said he was not convinced the large crowds at anti-war rallies was evidence that public opinion was firming against war.

"What I'm doing here is what I think is right for Australia," he told Channel Seven. "This is not something where you read each opinion poll or you measure the number of people at demonstrations."

AFP


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