Opposition to war on Iraq spreads
There is growing opposition from the world�s peoples to the US� plans of aggression against Iraq.
In London, capital of the United Kingdom, up to 150,000 rallied on September 28 to oppose the US and UK�s plans to attack Iraq. The rally, organized by the Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain, was one of the biggest antiwar demonstrations in European history.
Marking the intense disapproval, even by officials of the UK, for their government�s bellicose policies, London mayor Ken Livingstone showed his solidarity for and spoke before the rally. Mo Mowlam, a former Blair cabinet minister and now a severe critic, sent a message of solidarity. Members of parliament from Blair�s own Labour Party likewise spoke before the crowd. Scott Ritter, who led the group of weapons inspectors that entered Iraq in 1998 also gave a speech. Union leaders and some high officials of the Church of England likewise joined the demonstration.
In Rome, Italy, a march-rally against the US war on Iraq organized by the Communist Refoundation Party was attended by more than 100,000 people also on September 28. According to the latest surveys, almost 70% of Italians are opposed to waging war on Iraq, contrary to the position of the country�s Rightist prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.
Similar rallies were held in Paris, France; Sydney, Australia; and in various US cities on September 28 and 29.
In the Philippines, more than 100 church people from 22 countries rallied in front of the US Embassy on September 27 to condemn �US state terrorism� against Iraq and other targets of the �war against terrorism.� The rally served as the culmination of the International Ecumenical Conference on Terrorism in a Globalized World held in the Philippines from September 23-26. It was attended by 130 delegates, including 103 foreign church people from 22 countries and representing 14 denominations.
Prior to this, Sandeep Pandey, an Indian engineer and one of this year�s Ramon Magsaysay awardees, joined a rally in front of the US Embassy in September. Pandey openly assailed the US �war against terrorism.� In protest, Pandey returned the $50,000 prize he received as a Magsaysay awardee because the money came from the Rockefeller Brothers Foundation, a reactionary American institution.
| 
