Posted on 03/26/2003 3:04:58 AM PST by Timesink
Mar 26, 2003 By Jamie Tarabay SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Thousands of protesters pelted Sydney police with bottles and chairs grabbed from street-side cafes on Wednesday in Australia's most violent demonstration yet against the war in Iraq. Police in riot gear arrested at least 45 protesters, and one officer was injured when an object hurled from the crowd hit him on the head. In South Korea, police arrested 30 protesters who scaled a wall at the U.S. Embassy and unfurled a banner reading "Stop the war." The protests followed marches by hundreds of thousands of people in the Middle East on Tuesday. One demonstration in Damascus, Syria attracted a half-million protesters. About 10,000 demonstrators marched Wednesday in Sydney, mostly college and school students who boycotted classes. They burned American flags, set off firecrackers and chanted "No war!" Australia has about 2,000 troops fighting alongside U.S. and British forces in Iraq. The violence broke out after two separate groups of protesters merged outside Sydney's Town Hall and then streamed to Hide Park, where they chanted anti-war slogans and taunted police. The protesters later headed to Prime Minister John Howard's Sydney office, where they again began hurling bottles at police. In Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, more than 1,500 rowdy students marched through the central business district. About 800 students carrying banners rallied in the southern city of Adelaide. In Seoul, protesters wrapped steel chains around their bodies and chanted "We oppose war! We oppose deployment of troops!" Three protesters, one armed with a toy rifle and wearing a mask of President Bush, climbed a 50-foot-high McDonald's sign and shouted anti-war slogans. South Korea's government last week submitted a bill to the National Assembly asking for approval to send about 600 military engineers and 100 medical personnel to support the war. Voting was delayed Tuesday amid rising anti-war sentiment. In Syria, schools, universities and government agencies closed in Damascus while an estimated 500,000 protested in the streets, holding banners that read "Stop this war" and labeling the American and British leaders "international terrorists." Hundreds of thousands also rallied Tuesday in the Libyan capital of Tripoli, and about 10,000 in Beirut, Lebanon. The demonstrators in Beirut tried to storm the British Embassy but were pushed back by riot police with batons, water cannons and tear gas. Six people were injured. AP-ES-03-26-03 0409ESTAustralian Anti-War Protest Turns Violent; Hundreds of Thousands March in Middle East
Associated Press Writer
It's an all-purpose number that is AP code for "they didn't get the turnout they expected when they filed for their permit". They used that number in New York in October of 2001, I believe. We estimated perhaps 2500 on the other side; AP and the New York Times included everyone in Union Square, above AND below ground, I guess, and both reported 10,000.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.