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Asia marches against war
HONG KONG, China -- Tens of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of Asia to add their voice to the chain of rallies being staged around the world against any U.S.-led action on Iraq. New Zealand and Australia kickstarted the antiwar demonstrations on Saturday then, following the sun, East and Southeast Asian nations followed suit. But the biggest turnouts are expected in Europe where organizers hope more than one million people will march for peace. In New Zealand, crowds gathered in cities across the country, with several thousand marching through the main city of Auckland. "One, two, three, four ... we don't want your bloody war," was chanted among activists in Wellington while a plane trailed a banner reading "No war -- Peace Now" flew above the first race of the America's Cup near Auckland. About 16,000 protesters gathered in the Australian capital city of Canberra. Joining them in sister demonstrations in Perth, Newcastle and Hobart were 10,000, 15,000 and more than 10,000 people respectively. On Friday, more than 150,000 clogged streets in the southern city of Melbourne -- Melbourne's biggest peace march since the Vietnam War. (Melbourne's rally) Another large demonstration is set for Sydney on Sunday. 'Stop the war'In South Korea -- a major supporter of the U.S. in Asia and home to almost 40,000 U.S. troops -- more than 2,000 people rallied in Seoul. Demonstrators chanted "Stop the war!" and held balloons and pickets urging peace. In Tokyo, capital of close neighbor Japan, a small gathering of 300 protesters laid flowers and submitted anti-war petitions outside the U.S. Embassy. A larger march was scheduled for later Saturday. "We are on the brink of World War Three," Mariko Aoyama, a Japanese housewife in her 50s, who joined activists on the streets of Tokyo, told Reuters. In Southeast Asia, groups gathered in Manila, Bangkok, Taipei and Singapore as thousands of people expressed their skepticism over the threat Iraq poses to world security. About 2,000 marched on the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok -- the crowd including Thai Muslims and Westerners. In Malaysia, an ardent critic of the U.S. stance on Iraq, 1,500 antiwar activists gathered outside the U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur before marching to the Petronas Towers -- the world's tallest buildings. "We must stop the war as it is part of the United States' plot for global domination," protest organizer Nasir Hashim told the gathering. Europe's stageIn Europe, U.S. civil rights leader Jesse Jackson is set to appear at the London protest. According to police and organizers 500,000 people are set to rally in London's Hyde Park, a figure that could be matched in Barcelona, Spain and Rome, Italy. Elsewhere in Europe, a turnout of 100,000 is expected across Germany, organizers in France are hoping for 50,000 in Paris, while other cities across the continent are also bracing for similar numbers. The European protests also highlight a growing distrust over Washington's motivations for conflict and fears that any military action could spiral into a broader conflict beyond Iraq's borders. In the United States, New York is readying for a large protest opposite U.N. headquarters. Up to 100,000 people are expected and Archbishop Desmond Tutu and actors Susan Sarandon and Danny Glover will address the rally. The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.
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Millions of people around the world are rallying today to say no to war, and New Zealand is the first country to send this message.
