- FLORENCE, Italy (Reuters)
- More than half a million anti-war protesters from across Europe marched
through this Italian Renaissance city on Saturday in a loud and colorful
demonstration denouncing any possible U.S. attack on Iraq.
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- Brimming with anti-American feelings and riled by a tough
new U.N. resolution to disarm Iraq, young and old activists from as far
afield as Russia and Portugal joined forces for the carnival-like rally,
singing Communist anthems and 1970s peace songs.
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- "Take your war and go to hell," read one banner,
in a forest of multi-colored and multi-lingual placards.
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- "Drop Bush, not Bombs" read another. Some placards
depicted President Bush as Hitler and Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
as Mussolini.
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- Organizers said the rally, planned months ago, gained
added relevance by Friday's U.N. Security Council resolution which gave
Iraq a last chance to disarm or face almost certain war.
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- The protest, involving children as well as grandmothers,
marked the climax of the first European Social Forum, a four-day meeting
of anti-globalisation campaigners from all over Europe. Delegates discussed
topics from debt-reduction to support for the Palestinian uprising against
Israeli occupation.
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- Florence has been virtually shut down for the November
6-10 period, with the State Department advising its citizens to steer clear
of Italy's art capital over concerns that violent, anarchist groups might
infiltrate the demonstration.
-
- Authorities estimated that some 450,000 protesters flooded
Florence's streets for the march on a chilly autumn afternoon.
-
- But by dusk, the crowed had swelled to over half a million,
many of them arriving on specially chartered trains and buses. Organizers
estimated the gathering at around one million, making it one of Italy's
biggest ever anti-war rallies.
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- Despite the large crowds, the march was largely peaceful
and no incidents were reported.
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- "The atmosphere here is wonderful. Absolutely perfect.
It shows that a new young left is emerging," said Stavos Valsamis,
a 27-year-old Greek activist from Athens.
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- Children climbed on their parents' shoulders to get a
view of the sea of crowds marching along the seven-km (4.5-miles) route.
Many clapped as marchers passed by.
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- "This is amazing, it's so impressive," said
12-year-old Bianca Ronglia as she watched with her family from the side
of the road. "I'm happy and proud that my city is holding this."
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- BIGGER THAN GENOA
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- The march was bigger than a protest at a G8 summit in
Genoa last year, when 300,000 demonstrators took to the streets and an
orgy of violence left one protester dead and hundreds injured.
-
- Some 7,000 police officers were on call but security
forces kept a low profile along the rally's route. No incidents were reported.
-
- The rest of Florence was a ghost town with most shops
in the art-rich historical center pulling down the shutters for fear of
vandals. However, the city's famed museums remained open and offered free
entry to the few tourists around.
-
- Many Florence residents deserted the city for the four
days of the forum, prompting criticism from those who stayed behind.
-
- "I'm really disappointed by my fellow Florentines
-- it really shows very little faith. This whole event has been very calm,
in fact the city has been much calmer and friendlier than usual,"
said housewife Maria Briccoli, 37.
-
- As well as university-age students, older political activists
and thousands of trades unionists, Saturday's throng also included Italian
World War II partisans and a U.S. Vietnam war veteran who marched in the
first row of the crowd.
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- While Friday's U.N. resolution gives the Security Council
a central role in assessing the new arms' inspection program for Iraq,
it does not require the United States to seek U.N. authorization for war
in case of violations.
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- "I think it's a scandalous resolution," said
Sean Murray, 29, a member of Workers' Revolution. "It proves once
more that the U.N. is a puppet of America, Britain and France."
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