Global march for peace

LONDON - Millions of people are expected to march for peace tomorrow in what organisers say could be the world's biggest anti-war protest.

From Antarctica to Reykjavik, demonstrations against the looming war in Iraq are planned in more than 350 town and cities, by people from all walks of life and different ethnic groups.

London is expecting at least 500,000 marchers in what the organisers say will be a major blow to Prime Minister Tony Blair - United States President George W. Bush's strongest supporter in his campaign to force Iraqi disarmament.

"We expect the demonstration to be the biggest ever in British political history," said Andrew Murray, head of the British Stop The War coalition.

"The British population do not consent to this war."

Britons are by no means alone in their distrust of the American motivation for the conquest of Iraq. They also fear the possible global conflagration that an invasion could trigger.

Organisers in Rome are expecting more than 500,000 people to march through the city, not impossible given the massive turnout for the anti-war demonstration in Florence in November.

They will be led by victims of recent wars including a Palestinian, a Kurd, an Afghan woman, an Israeli, and a member of an association of victims of September 11, as the demonstration brings together a range of political groups.

Synchronised marches will occur across Europe, from Lisbon to Llubjana, from Dublin to Istanbul. In Paris the procession through the Latin Quarter will be led by French veterans of the Gulf War, carrying coffins.

There will be protests across Spain, and the march in Barcelona will be followed on Monday by the departure of the first "Brigade" of volunteers to Iraq to show solidarity with the Iraqi people - recalling the International Brigade which fought on the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War.

In Russia a series of demonstrations are planned, as they are across the US and Australasia.

Even in traditionally neutral Switzerland a series of protests are planned under the slogan "No to war in Iraq - No blood for oil!"

Organisers of a peace march in San Francisco say they expect more than 100,000 to converge on the city on Monday.

In South Africa, where President Thabo Mbeki and former President Nelson Mandela have both spoken out strongly against any Iraq war, a series of demonstrations are planned.

In Dublin, anti-war demonstration organisers expect upwards of 20,000 people to take part in a march through the Irish capital.

But the event in London, which organisers pledge will be peaceful despite fears it could be disrupted by anti-Israeli demonstrators, will be pivotal within the world peace movement.

Jeremy Corbyn, prominent maverick in Blair's ruling Labour Party, said the key speaker at the rally would be American anti-war campaigner Jesse Jackson.

"He is coming specially because opinion polls show that if Britain backs out of the war the American public will also stop supporting it."

- REUTERS

* In Auckland a rally and march to oppose war with Iraq will be held at noon tomorrow in Queen Elizabeth Square at the bottom of Queen St and a peace concert will be held in Potters Park on Sunday.

Herald feature: Iraq