Europe: antiwar protests draw largest numbers in London and Rome

The London protest was one of a number organised across Europe and internationally to mark the third anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

On the whole, however, the demonstrations revealed a certain exhaustion with the policy of pacifist protest that substitutes simply mobilising numbers on the streets for a political perspective aimed against imperialist war and the capitalist profit system that gives rise to it.

In Denmark some 4,000 people rallied in Copenhagen; in Stockholm, Sweden, about 1,000 marched to the US Embassy. Three thousand protesters gathered in Istanbul, Turkey, around 1,000 in Berlin and approximately 500 in Vienna. In Barcelona, Spain, 4,000 demonstrated and there were also protests in Portugal, Greece, Switzerland and Ireland.

The demonstrations in London and Rome were amongst the largest, no doubt motivated by opposition to the governments of prime ministers Tony Blair and Silvio Berlusconi. Both countries have troops in Iraq. According to reports, Romano Prodi, who heads the alliance that is challenging Berlusconi in next month’s election, had declined to participate in the 10,000-strong Rome march.

In London, a handful of Labour MPs and trade union leaders addressed the crowd, including London Mayor Ken Livingstone and former Labour MP and minister Tony Benn, and George Galloway, head of the Respect-Unity coalition. Their speeches made general criticisms of Blair and called for a reorientation in Britain’s foreign policy, away from its reliance on the US.

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