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NEWS & LETTERS, MAY 2003
Our Life and Times
European anti-war movement continues
by Kevin A. Barry The massive anti-war movement that has gripped Western
Europe over the past few months has declined somewhat, but has managed to
continue nonetheless, even after the total collapse of the Iraqi regime during
the third week of the war. Not since the anti-nuclear demonstrations of the
early 1980s have we witnessed such a large and persistent peace movement. On Thursday, March 20, as the war began, 250,000
demonstrated across Germany. In Berlin, 50,000 high school students chanted
slogans such as "No blood for oil," swelling a pre-existing march to
70,000. That same day in Paris, high school students were also the first to
gather and by evening the crowd grew to 100,000, with many working people
joining in. Many of the youth first became active during the mass rallies
against racist Jean-Marie Le Pen's 2002 presidential candidacy. In Southern Europe on March 20, the outpouring was even
larger. In Spain, which has had the most protests of any country, 35,000 tied up
traffic in Barcelona during the day and by evening, the crowd had grown to
hundreds of thousands. More than 150,000 marched through Athens, tying up traffic,
while in Italy, hundreds of thousands marched through Rome, many of them workers
who took the day off to participate. In Turin, 20,000 students blocked the
railroads, which have been used to transport U.S. equipment. Many of these youth
are linked to Arcolero (Rainbow), a new coordinating group that emerged out of
the anti-globalization movement. On Saturday, March 22, three days into the war, the
protests continued. At least 200,000 demonstrated across France, with 100,000 in
Paris. In Spain, 100,000 demonstrated in Madrid, sometimes clashing with police.
A very youthful crowd of 200,000 came out in London as well. During the following days, many began to declare the
movement dead, as demonstrations grew much smaller. However, the events of
Saturday, April 12 proved otherwise, even though the war was essentially over by
then. In London, more than 100,000 turned out. Film director Ken Loach, one of
those at the front of the march, called for an end to the "occupation"
of Iraq. In Rome, 500,000 took to the streets, with small groups attacking
Blockbuster Video stores (owned by billionaire pro-war President Silvio
Berlusconi) and Esso (Exxon-Mobil) stations. In Spain as well, very large
demonstrations included 200,000 in Barcelona and 100,000 in Madrid. This massive and persistent peace movement is not without
its contradictions. First, as many have noted, the movement has had a very
difficult time responding to the brutal, genocidal character of the Saddam
Hussein regime. Those with slogans targeting both Bush and Saddam were hard to
find, as were those supporting the legitimate demands of the Kurds. Second, there were the more than occasional displays of anti-Semitism, most dramatically in Paris on March 22, when four members of Hashomer Hatzair, a leftist Zionist youth group that supports a Palestinian state, were beaten up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators. Reportedly, someone with a loudspeaker announced from within the ranks of the Coordination for a Just Peace in the Middle East, "there are Jews over there," something the Coordination denies. Afterwards, the leadership of the peace movement strongly denounced these attacks, while Hashomer Hatzair demanded that it make the statement "anti-Semites have no place in our movement" into one of the main slogans at future peace marches. |
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