People Worldwide Want Peace!
We are reaching critical mass....
On September 21st (fall equinox) each year, millions of people celebrate the United Nations' International Day of Peace (IDP). At the UN headquarters in Washington DC, children representing every nation participate in a grand celebration. At noon, the Secretary General holds a moment of silence, and over one billion people worldwide join him. Some will gather in groups as large as 300,000 for the IDP 24 hour inter- religious Vigil and ceasfire, which is held in 70 countries. This year 1350 organizations will hold Peace Day events, many of them in 50 or 60 countries simultaneously - some in schools, or in the streets, on festival grounds and in conference halls. Find an event near you at www.internationaldayofpeace.org
FACES of Peace
There are less than 200 countries on this tiny planet of ours, and people from most of them participated in the February 15th, 2003, marches against the war on Iraq. We don't generally cover actions against one thing or another at World Peace Emerging, but on this amazing day we got to see the faces of the world, and how deeply we all want Peace. Friends and enemies alike, in groups as large as 2 million, walked together to show how much they care. We couldn't resist sharing the photos!
THE PHOTO ESSAY
These photos were gathered from a site put together by the Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace. You can see hundreds of photos at their site www.omjp.org/Feb1503pics.html. Press notes are from CNN, the Guardian, Newsweek, Reuters, BBC and others.
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"February 15, 2003: More than 10 million people are expected to take to the streets in 600 cities today as part of global demonstrations against a war in Iraq. It is anticipated that today's marches will be the largest ever for a single cause."
"Hundreds of thousands of people have started to fill streets across the globe in opposition to military action against Iraq. The Australian city of Melbourne kicked off the global series of weekend demonstrations that will eventually spread to 600 towns and cities stretching from Antarctica to Reykjavik, Iceland. Marches are being held from the Pacific islands to Europe, and from New York to California."
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| Athens, Greece |
"You have to think about human rights and stop thinking about only business and making money," one protester said. "You can't stop war by making war."
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| Madrid, Spain |
"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."
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| Tel Aviv, Israel |
"In London on Saturday, police said the turnout was 750,000, the largest demonstration ever in the British capital. The organizers put the figure at 2 million. Half a million protested in Germany, and 300,000 in 60 towns and cities across France."
"Baghdad, Iraq (CNN) -- Tens of thousands of people flooded the streets of Baghdad Saturday, joining hundreds of thousands more worldwide protesting a possible U.S.-led war against Iraq."
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| Vienna, Austria |
"Crowds opposed to war in Iraq thronged South Africa's major cities on Saturday, as peaceful protests united diverse racial and political groups."
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| Barcelona, Spain |
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| Cape Town, South Africa |
"The NTV television news station said that around 500 buses had been used to bring protesters into the city from all over Germany. Police said up to 500,000 people attended the rally."
"Tens of thousands more gathered in Paris, where -- as in Germany -- the anti-war movement has the backing of the national government."
"Braving biting cold and snow flurries in the Ukraine, around 2,000 people rallied in Kiev's central square. Anti-globalists led a peaceful Rock Against War protest, joined by communists, socialists, Kurds and pacifists."
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Madrid, Spain
"Rome: More than one million marchers, including union leaders, left-wing opposition politicians, intellectuals and anti-vivisection campaigners, converged on the Italian capital to call for peace. "
Ramallah, Palestine
"Mostar - Around 100 Muslims and Croats united against the prospect of war, the first such cross-community action in seven years. "We want to say that war is evil, and we who survived one know that better than anyone," said Majda Hadzic, aged 54."
Antarctica
"Kuala Lumpur - Several thousand opposition politicians, non-governmental activists, community leaders and members of the public gathered outside the American embassy in the Malaysian capital for around an hour this morning. The number was several times more than the organizers had expected, and political leaders headlined speeches protesting against the prospect of war. "
"After thousands took to the streets last weekend, several small protests occurred in Jakarta today and yesterday, both against the prospect of war and, more specifically, Australian participation in it. The latter were targeted at the visiting Australian prime minister, John Howard, who stressed after meeting the Indonesian president, Megawati Sukarnoputri, that his policies were anything but anti-Islamic. Mr Howard said that he would prefer to see Saddam Hussein disarmed peacefully. The Indonesian government is becoming increasingly anti-war, and is beginning to vocally support the Franco-Sino-German stance on increasing the number of weapons inspectors. The most poignant of the protests was a candlelit vigil on Friday night, which was organised by dozens of women activists."
Zagreb, Croatia
Paris, France
"Australians are often regarded as laid-back people, shy of political engagement, but anti-war demonstrations this weekend have been showing a more activist side to the lucky country, A protest in Melbourne attracted between 100,000 and 200,000 people, thought to be the city's biggest-ever political demonstration. Other protests were staged across the country, including a demonstration in the capital Canberra, which numbered between 3,000 and 5,000, and marches in Perth, Hobart and Newcastle. In the small town of Bellingen near the New South Wales central coast, the crowd of protesters was estimated by organisers to be barely smaller than the local population of 2,600."
Seoul, Korea
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| Sydney, Australia |
"For thousands, it was their first protest march, with many having joined new anti-war groups formed in their villages, churches and colleges."
"Concerns have been expressed in the Jewish community that the anti-war march has been linked to the 'Freedom for Palestine' campaign. Some Jewish and Arab protesters were, however, marching together."
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| Montevideo, Uruguay |
"Thousands of anti-war protesters also took to the streets of Glasgow, marching through the city centre towards the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre, where the Labour party's spring conference is being held. Around 61,000 people are estimated to haven taken part in the largest-ever peace demonstration ever staged north of the border."
"London today became the scene for what appears to be the biggest public rally in British history. In hundreds of cities, including Damascus, Athens, Seoul, Rome, Tokyo and Sydney, demonstrators marched, chanted and unfurled banners against conflict in the Middle East. The London demonstration, which organisers currently estimate to be 1.5m people strong, began ahead of its scheduled starting time as the numbers congregating at Embankment forced police to allow them to march through Westminster and Whitehall earlier than expected. Organiser John Rees, of the Stop the War Coalition, said the atmosphere was "great". He added: "The march is huge. People are cheering and making lots of noise. Ken Livingstone is up at the front of the march." A second march started in Gower Street, central London, and met with the first at Picadilly Circus. There were loud cheers from the thousands who gathered around the statue of Eros when the two marches joined up. All around them, main streets were packed with people walking 20 abreast. All ages were represented among the marchers, from babies to pensioners. Many had travelled with family or friends to voice their concerns. A few thousand people had already gathered in Hyde Park, the destination of both marches, where a rally was later held. US civil rights campaigner the Rev Jesse Jackson thanked the protesters for being a part of the largest demonstration against war "in the history of Britain and the history of the world".
Los Angeles, United States
Rome, Italy
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