Anti-war Protests Grip Asia
Reports from Asian Peace Alliance (APA) members
In New Delhi, a demonstration against war in Iraq took place on the 10th of February as part of the local and international anti-war effort. A diverse range of groups, including Left parties, NGOs, intellectuals and others organised the event, which saw around 7,000 people participate, carrying placards against US and British imperialism and banners for peace. The demonstration was not given permission to protest outside the American Centre in New Delhi, so participants settled on gathering at a location close by.
On the 15th of February, a vigil was held at the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi to continue the protests and counter false US propaganda against Iraq. APA India was one of the many groups that supported these initiatives.
by Anuradha Chenoy
Pakistan
February 15 saw rallies take place all over Pakistan, in towns and cities large and small. People of all ages, the old and the young, children and women, participated in protests against the American threat of war on Iraq. Among the many organisations taking part in the rally held in Karachi were the Pakistan Peace Coalition, Pak-India Peoples Forum for Peace and Democracy, Pen for Peace, Women Action Forum, Aurat Foundation, Progressive Writers Association, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Karachi Union of Journalists, Association of Peoples of Asia, PILER, National Workers Party, Labour Party Pakistan and Communist Party of Pakistan. Representatives of trade unions, students, lawyers, doctors and writers organisations also participated in the Karachi event. The rally marched through Saddar, the city�s busiest shopping district where shopkeepers and the general public nodded their approval at the anti-war, anti-Bush-Blair, pro-peace slogans raised by the rally�s participants and written on the placards and banners. Pakistan�s national newspapers gave wide coverage of the rallies.
At the conclusion of the rally, a committee called �Citizens Committee Against War� was formed to continue the campaign against US war threat to Iraq.
In terms of future plans, it was decided that a bigger rally would be organised on Saturday 28th February. If the US attacks Iraq, then citizens will be called upon to assemble in large numbers the next day at the Karachi Press Club in a major anti-war rally. Meanwhile, thousands of leaflets are to be distributed in the city, alongside posters in different localities condemning the American threat of war.
by M B Naqvi
The Philippines
An estimated 2,500 people participated in the Global Day of Action held in Manila on February 14 and organised by three peace coalitions in the PhilippinesGathering for Peace, RESIST, and Peace Camp.
The participants gathered in the Malate Park (Rajah Soliman), which is the business-entertainment center of Manila. The programme began at 3:00 PM, and included a number of speakers. Former Senator Wigberto E. Ta�ada, Lead Convenor of Gathering for Peace, spoke on behalf of the organisers, and warned of the impending US-led war against Iraq, particularly its consequences for the lives and properties of people in the country. Ta�ada also warned that a war would cause tremendous damage to the economy and environment of many countries.
Jimmy Regalario, RESIST Chairperson, followed by lambasting US President George W. Bush for his greed for oil, identifying this as the main reason for the current crisis in Iraq and in the Middle East. Also among the speakers was Roland Simbulan, Co-Convenor of the Gathering for Peace and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the Philippines Manila Campus, who read a Unity Statement issued by the organisers.
After the short programme, a march to the US Embassy in Roxas Boulevard was held. Participants included people from the Philippine peace movement, women, labour, farmers, environmentalists, non-government organisations, church and the academe. Some of the organisations represented were Alab-Katipunan, Bukluran sa Ikauunlad ng Sosyalistang Isip at Gawa (BISIG), Akbayan (Citizen�s Action Party), Mindanao People�s Caucus (MPC), Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute (GZOPI), SANLAKAS, Philippine Greens, Bikers for Peace, KAISAKA (Pagkakaisa ng Kababaihan para sa Inang Bayan), Kilusan para sa Pambansang Demokrasya (KPD), and the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM).
by Concepcion Asis
Korea
In Korea, many anti-war campaigns and demonstrations have been initiated not only by peace groups, but also individual young people, connecting with each other and spontaneously organising. Media such as the Internet have been used very effectively by young people to gather their voices against war in diverse and creative ways.
On the February 15 Global Day of Action, more than 5,000 people demonstrated across Korea. In Seoul, a large anti-war event began at 3:00 PM at Daehakro (the College Street) with a programme of diverse cultural performances, including a performance of anti-war songs and dances by mothers and children organised by APA member Women Making Peace. Speeches were also given, including one by three young people who were about to leave for Iraq to join the Iraq Peace Team. In other speeches, links were made between the Bush administration�s attack on Iraq and a possible attack on North Korea. A number of young parents with their children attended the event, and they expressed their strong objections to the impending war on Iraq.
The demonstrators then held a peace march to Kwaghwamoon, close to where the US embassy is located, and where candle light vigils against US militarism have been held since early December last year. There were a number of participants from Egypt, Iran, Bangladesh, Canada, the US, and the Philippines among the marchers. Upon reaching Kwaghwa-moon, a candlelight vigil was held which lasted until 10 o�clock at night.
Korean peace groups, including APA member organisations, will conduct a week-long anti-war campaign from February 24 to March 1, called �People�s Action for Autonomy and Peace.� There will be public forums, cultural performances, and other activities expressing a strong voice against the US war on Iraq, and for peace on the Korean peninsula.
by Jeongsoo Kim
Hong Kong
At around 3:00 PM on February 15, hundreds of protesters trooped to the Edinburgh Place outside the City Hall in Central,Hong Kongto join the global day of action against the war on Iraq. Swelling to more than a thousand people, the huge rally, which reverberated with anti-war songs, performances and speeches, attracted the public�s attention to the growing anti-war sentiment in apolitical Hong Kong.
Rasti Delizo of Peace Camp (Philippines) spoke on behalf of APA and read the APA Steering Committee�s solidarity message to the angry but jubilant crowd. The demonstrators, carrying placards and chanting slogans, �No blood for oil,� �Drop Bush, Not Bombs� and �We Want Peace in the Middle East� marched from the City Hall to the US and British Consulates. A joint statement (reprinted below) was read out to representatives of the two consulates, who then accepted copies on behalf of their governments.
In Hong Kong, where debate on regional peace and security issues can often seem very muted, the presence of over 1,000 people at Hong Kong�s February 15 rally suggests that public awareness on these issues already exists, and that continued efforts at organising could effectively mobilise the city�s peace-loving majority. Efforts are certainly being made by local activist groups and NGOs, in preparation for another rally, which is to be held on March 15. An update on these efforts and the rally will follow in the next Newsbriefs!
by ARENA Staff
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