People's Democracy

(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of India (Marxist)

Vol. XXV

No. 42

October 21, 2001

Anti-War Protests In The West

Reach A Crescendo

BERLIN, London, Rome, Toronto, and many other places in the West witnessed huge protests over the weekend (Oct.12-13) against the US bombardment of Afghanistan. The number of people who participated in these actions, their composition, and their grit has sent shock-waves among the ruling classes of these countries and resulted in intensified propaganda to show that there is indeed support for the war in their countries. The corporate media has become an active component in the attempts to marginalise and dismiss this enormous demand for peace. As the horrors committed by the American bombers and missiles unfold these protests are set to grow much bigger and louder in the coming days. Here is a compilation of brief reports of some of the bigger actions in the West.

BERLIN - Biggest Peace Demo

In one of the biggest peace demonstrations in Germany, more than thirty thousands of people took part in the peace rally in Berlin on Saturday calling for an end to the military strikes against Afghanistan. Around 100 organisations, including peace groups, trade unions and political parties, participated in the demonstration under the slogan of "No War! Stand up for Peace!". "War will lead to escalation of violence and many, many deaths of civilians. It is not the correct answer to terrorism," said 65- year-old Martin Ehlers. The protesters voiced objection to possible German military participation in the strikes. "Germany can’t go to war anymore," a young woman said. The composition of the demonstrations were very mixed, with many young people taking part in Berlin, as well as older supporters of the PDS (Party of Democratic Socialism). The rally was preceded by several peace marches held throughout the city under the motto "No War- Stand Up for Peace."In another significant action on October 8, more than 5,000 school students took strike action in Berlin against the war. The school students’ committee which called the strike was initiated by ‘International Resistance’, ‘Youth against Racism in Europe’ and young SAV members. Since then, there has been a wave of intimidation in the schools against the students that went on strike and especially the organisers.

In the southern city of Stuttgart there were also some 10,000 demonstrators protesting against the military strikes in Afghanistan, according to police. Police said all of the demonstrations ran in peaceful atmosphere.

LONDON - 50,000 Rally

The anti-war demonstration that took place in London on October 13 was significant for its size and mood. There were about 50,000 on the demo, which was bigger than expected. The organisers, CND, were completely overwhelmed by the turnout.

This diverse coalition of people against the war has grown up mainly by website and e-mail ,faster than in any previous conflict.

Many of those present were peace activists. Most people came from a middle class background, although there were also working class people. Significantly, there were many youth, some of whom were school age. There were also large contingents of Asians. In many cases mosques had organised coaches. Not only were young Asian men present but also young Asian women, and mostly from a working class background.

Salma Yakoob of the Stop the War Coalition addressing the crowd said "If only the leftists had been here today people would have said we were all lefties. If only CND had been here they would have said it was the middle-class elite. If it was only the Muslims they would have called us extremists. If it was only Asians and black people they would have said it was the ethnic minorities. Tony Blair, we are here united against this war. You cannot dismiss us all."

This was the first national demo organised against the war (although there have been protests in London and in other cities and towns) and attracted large numbers. The Stop The War Coalition announced that it intended to hold another national rally on 18 November.

ITALY - Massive Peace Walk

It is being described as the biggest peace action Italy has witnessed in the last few decades. An estimated 200,000 people staged a peace walk from the cities of Perugia to Assisi expressing their opposition to the US war on Afghanistan. This was a continuation of the Italian Left tradition of peace movement during the cold war period.

The unprecedented success of this 24 -km long peace march on Oct. 14 came as a big embarrasment to the anti-communist Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi who was meeting US president George Bush in Washington on the same day. Like Indian prime minister Vajpayee, Berlusconi's unsolicited offers of help in the "fight against terror" have fallen on deaf ears in Washington. After repeated requests, this meeting with George Bush came about.

TORONTO - Protest Against Biased Media

The Coalition Against War and Racism protested near the U.S. Consulate in Toronto on October 13 opposing the war, Canada’s involvement in it and the biased media coverage that has been prevalent since September 11th.

"The media has turned the coverage of the War on Terrorism into a new form of racist terror that several speakers denounced they do a good job of creating them through their biased and paranoid coverage " said oner participant in the protest. The speakers felt that it is time to talk about peaceful solutions while there is still some peace left.

Smaller protests were held in many other parts of non-Islamic world, including Australia. Police said an estimated 5,000 people protested in the Swiss capital Berne.