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On 15 February 2003, a coordinated day of protests was held across the world in which people in more than 600 cities expressed opposition to the imminent
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the invasion, war, and occupation took place. The day was described by social movement researchers as "the largest protest event in human history". According to
BBC News BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
, between six and ten million people took part in protests in up to sixty countries over the weekend of 15 and16 February. The largest protests took place in Europe. The one in Rome involved around three million people, and is listed in the 2004 '' Guinness Book of World Records'' as the largest anti-war
rally Rally or rallye may refer to: Gatherings * Demonstration (political), a political rally, a political demonstration of support or protest, march, or parade * Pep rally, an event held at a United States school or college sporting event Sport ...
in history. Madrid hosted the second largest rally with more than 1.5million people protesting the invasion of Iraq; Mainland China was the only major region not to see any protests on that day, but small demonstrations, attended mainly by foreign students, were seen later.


Background

In 2002, the
United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...
began to argue for the necessity of invading Iraq. This formally began with a speech by US President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
to the
United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
on 12 September 2002 which argued that the
Iraqi government The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current Constitution, approved in 2005, as an Islamic, democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as w ...
of
Saddam Hussein Saddam Hussein ( ; ar, صدام حسين, Ṣaddām Ḥusayn; 28 April 1937 – 30 December 2006) was an Iraqi politician who served as the fifth president of Iraq from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003. A leading member of the revolutio ...
was violating
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
(UN) resolutions, primarily on
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to numerous individuals or cause great damage to artificial structures (e.g., buildings), natu ...
, and that this necessitated action. The proposed war was controversial with many people questioning the motives of the US government and its rationale. One poll which covered 41countries claimed that less than 10% would support an invasion of Iraq without UN sanction and that half would not support an invasion under any circumstances. Anti-war groups worldwide organised public protests. According to the French academic
Dominique Reynié Dominique Reynié (born 17 June 1960, Rodez, France) is a French academic. He is a professor of political science at the Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po Paris). Biography Education Dominique Reynié graduated from Sciences P ...
, between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000anti‑war protests, the demonstrations on 15 February 2003 being the largest and most prolific. The
invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
began on 20 March 2003.


International coordination

The 15 February international protests were unprecedented not only in terms of the size of the demonstrations but also in terms of the international coordination involved. Researchers from the
University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...
claim that the day was possible only because it "was carefully planned by an international network of national social movement organisations."Stefaan Walgrave and Joris Verhulst
The February 15 Worldwide Protests against a War in Iraq: An Empirical Test of Transnational Opportunities. Outline of a Research Programme.
( PDF). Draft paper online. p.5. Retrieved 24 January 2006. (see Wikipedia:WikiProject Anti-war/An Empirical Test of Transnational Opportunities for permission to quote paper)
Immanuel Wallerstein Immanuel Maurice Wallerstein (; September 28, 1930 – August 31, 2019) was an American sociologist and economic historian. He is perhaps best known for his development of the general approach in sociology which led to the emergence of his wor ...
has spoken of the international protests as being organised by the forces of "the Porto Alegre camp in reference to the emergence of global social movements who had been organising around international events such as the 2001
World Social Forum The World Social Forum (WSF, pt, Fórum Social Mundial ) is an annual meeting of civil society organizations, first held in Brazil, which offers a self-conscious effort to develop an alternative future through the championing of counter-hegemoni ...
in
Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the twelfth most populous city in the country and the center of Brazil's fif ...
." Some commentators claim this is an example of " grassroots globalisation", for example one book claims that "The worldwide protests were made possible by globalisation... But make no mistake—this was not your CEO's globalisation. The peace demonstrations represented, not a globalisation of commerce, but a globalisation of conscience". The idea for an international day of demonstrations was first raised by the British anti-capitalist group
Globalise Resistance Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose capitalism. In this sense, anti-capitalists are those who wish to replace capitalism with another type of economic system, such as so ...
(GR) in the wake of an anti-war demonstration in Britain of 400,000 on 28 September. At the time GR was involved in planning for the
Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...
European Social Forum The European Social Forum (ESF) was a recurring conference held by members of the alter-globalization movement (also known as the Global Justice Movement). In the first few years after it started in 2002 the conference was held every year, but late ...
(ESF) and brought up the suggestion at an ESF planning meeting. According to GR's Chris Nineham, "There was considerable controversy. Some delegates were worried it would alienate the mainstream of the movement. We, alongside the Italian delegates, had to put up a strong fight to get it accepted." The proposal was accepted and at the final rally of the ESF, in November 2002, the call officially went out for Europe-wide demonstrations on 15 February 2003. This call was firmed up in December at a planning meeting for the following ESF which took place in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
in 2003. This meeting was attended by delegates from many European anti-war organisations, the US group
United for Peace and Justice United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) is a coalition of more than 1,300
,
, and representatives of groups from the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
. The decision was taken to set up a Europe-wide anti-war website and to commit to spreading organisational coordination both within and beyond Europe. An email network connecting the different national organisations across Europe, and eventually also the different US groups, was set up. In December 2002, the
Cairo Anti-war Conference The Cairo Conference against U.S. hegemony and war on Iraq and in solidarity with Palestine (later: Popular Campaign for the Support of Resistance in Palestine and Iraq and Against Globalization), generally known simply as Cairo Anti-war Conference ...
pledged to organise demonstrations in
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
and the
International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq The International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq (ICAAI) was a campaign umbrella group launched in Cairo 2003, at the Cairo Anti-war Conference, to oppose the invasion of Iraq. The ICAAI sought to co-ordinate the February 15th global day ...
(which came out of the Cairo conference) sought to co-ordinate more demonstrations across the world. Around this time, the US anti-war group International ANSWER called for actions in North America supporting the proposed protests in Europe. Another important platform for the spreading call to demonstrate internationally occurred at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre,
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
which took place at the end of 2002. European delegates sought to popularise the plan for the increasingly international demonstration. They met with some success, including the organisation of an anti‑war assembly which was attended by almost 1,000people. The song "Boom!", by
System of a Down System of a Down (also known as SoaD or simply System) is an Armenian-American heavy metal band formed in Glendale, California, in 1994. Since 1997, the band has consisted of Serj Tankian (lead vocals, keyboards); Daron Malakian (guitar, voc ...
, had a music video filmed on the day of the protest, showing the many protest locations and people's opinions on the Iraq War.


Europe

Demonstrations took place across Europe and some of the largest drawing attendance figures in the tens of thousands in many cities. Approximately one-fifth of the total demonstrators worldwide protested in Europe.


Alpine countries

In Austria, 30,000 people (SW estimate) took to the streets of its capital,
Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...
. In Switzerland in order to "concentrate the movement" most activists agreed to organise a single demonstration for the whole country in Bern. On the day roughly 40,000 people joined the protest in front of the Bundeshaus, the seat of the Swiss federal government and parliament. The demonstration, which ran under the slogan ' (No to war in Iraqno blood for oil!) was the largest in Switzerland since 1945. In
Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...
, roughly 3,000 people gathered in
Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the are ...
's central park of Kongresni trg, supported by the mayor Danica Simšič, and marched the streets in one of the largest demonstrations since independence in 1991.
TV Slovenia


Benelux

The
Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico- economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: ...
countries had large demonstrations for their total population size. In Belgium organisers had expected around 30,000 people to attend a demonstration in
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
, which is the home of the
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
. They were shocked by a turn out of approximately 100,000 people (WSWS and GLW estimate). The march took over 3hours to cross the city. The Netherlands saw around 70,000 (''USA Today'' estimate) to 75,000 people (WSWS estimate) protest in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
. This was the country's largest demonstration since the
anti-nuclear The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...
campaigns of the 1980s. Anti war website
antiwar.com Antiwar.com is a website that describes itself as devoted to non-interventionism and as opposing imperialism and war. It is a project of the Randolph Bourne Institute. The website states that it is "fighting the next information war”. Histor ...
reports that 8,000-14,000 people were present at protests in
Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
, however they do not provide a citation for this figure.


Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
saw around 100 protesters gather in
Mostar , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg , image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...
. This protest spanned the sectarian divide with both
Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
and
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, ...
attending.


Croatia

There were also protests in
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...
where 10,000 people (WSWS estimate) took part in a protest in the capital city of
Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital and largest city of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb stands near the international border between Croatia and Slov ...
. Croatia also saw protests in Osijek,
Vukovar Vukovar () ( sr-Cyrl, Вуковар, hu, Vukovár, german: Wukowar) is a city in Croatia, in the eastern region of Slavonia. It contains Croatia's largest river port, located at the confluence of the Vuka and the Danube. Vukovar is the seat of ...
,
Knin Knin (, sr, link=no, Книн, it, link=no, Tenin) is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagr ...
,
Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar ser ...
,
Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...
,
Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertai ...
and
Dubrovnik Dubrovnik (), historically known as Ragusa (; see notes on naming), is a city on the Adriatic Sea in the region of Dalmatia, in the southeastern semi-exclave of Croatia. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations in the Mediterran ...
.


Cyprus

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
saw a demonstration of between 500 (''USA Today'' estimate) and more than 800 people (SW estimate) at the
British army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
base in Dhekelia. Enduring heavy rain protesters briefly blocked the base. They then marched to
Pyla Pyla (; ) is a village in Larnaca District, Cyprus. It is one of only four villages located within the United Nations Buffer Zone, the other three being Athienou, Troulloi and Deneia. Pyla is located in the eastern part of the island, adjacent ...
village where they watched other demonstrations occurring across the world on a giant screen. The demonstration was mostly attended by
Greek Cypriot Greek Cypriots or Cypriot Greeks ( el, Ελληνοκύπριοι, Ellinokýprioi, tr, Kıbrıs Rumları) are the ethnic Greek population of Cyprus, forming the island's largest ethnolinguistic community. According to the 2011 census, 659,115 r ...
s but they were joined by some
Turkish Cypriot Turkish Cypriots or Cypriot Turks ( tr, Kıbrıs Türkleri or ''Kıbrıslı Türkler''; el, Τουρκοκύπριοι, Tourkokýprioi) are ethnic Turks originating from Cyprus. Following the Ottoman conquest of the island in 1571, about 30,0 ...
s.


Czech Republic

In the Czech Republic, over 1,000 people joined a rally at
Jan Palach Jan Palach (; 11 August 1948 – 19 January 1969) was a Czech student of history and political economics at Charles University in Prague. His self-immolation was a political protest against the end of the Prague Spring resulting from the 1968 in ...
Square in Prague. Czech philosopher Erazim Kohak addressed the crowd, saying, "War is not a solution, war is a problem." Protesters listened to music and speeches before marching to the Czech government building, where they submitted petitions, then march continued to the US embassy.


France

In France, there were demonstrations in somewhere between twenty (''Observer'' estimate) and eighty cities ( WSWS estimate); the organisers estimated that over half a million marched in total. The biggest demonstration took place in Paris, where around 100,000 (''
USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgi ...
'' estimate) to 200,000 (WSWS estimate) people marched through the streets, ending in a rally at the
Place de la Bastille The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the ...
. This location's role in the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...
was considered to give it a historical significance. There was also a demonstration in
Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
of around 10,000 people.


Germany

In Germany, coaches brought people from over 300 German towns to Berlin to join a demonstration of 300,000 (police estimate) to 500,000 (organizers' estimate) people; the largest demonstration that had occurred in Berlin for several decades. Protesters, including members of
Gerhard Schröder Gerhard Fritz Kurt "Gerd" Schröder (; born 7 April 1944) is a German lobbyist and former politician, who served as the chancellor of Germany from 1998 to 2005. From 1999 to 2004, he was also the Leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germa ...
's government, filled the boulevard between the Brandenburg Gate and the
Victory Column A victory column, or monumental column or triumphal column, is a monument in the form of a column, erected in memory of a victorious battle, war, or revolution. The column typically stands on a base and is crowned with a victory symbol, such as a ...
.
ATTAC The Association pour la Taxation des Transactions financières et pour l'Action Citoyenne (''Association for the Taxation of financial Transactions and Citizen's Action'', ATTAC) is an activist organisation originally created to promote the e ...
Germany's spokesperson Malte Kreutzfeld was reported as praising the broadness of the demonstration, saying "The churches and trade unions have linked to make the coalition far broader than even the anti-nuclear missile marches in the 1980s."


Greece

In
Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
, Greece, 150,000 people (WSWS estimate) demonstrated. The protest was generally peaceful, but a small group clashed with police. The police fired
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ...
at the group some of whom threw rocks and
petrol bombs A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with fla ...
. Police reported that the trouble was down to a group of
anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
who had split off from the main demonstration.


Hungary

There was a demonstration in
Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
, Hungary, of 60,000 people (SW estimate)


Ireland

In
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
, the
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...
march was only expected to draw 20,000 people, but the actual figure was given variously as 80,000 (police estimate), 90,000 (BBC estimate), 100,000 (''Guardian'' estimate) or 150,000 (
Socialist Worker ''Socialist Worker'' is the name of several far-left newspapers currently or formerly associated with the International Socialist Tendency (IST). It is a weekly newspaper published by the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) in the United Kingdom since ...
(SW) estimate). The march went from Parnell Square, passing the Department of Foreign Affairs at St. Stephen's Green, and on to the Dame Street for a rally where popular Irish
folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...
singer
Christy Moore Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore (born 7 May 1945) is an Irish folk singer, songwriter and guitarist. In addition to his significant success as an individual, he is one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts. His first album, ...
,
Kíla Kíla is a 1987 Irish folk music/ world music group from the Irish language secondary school, Coláiste Eóin in County Dublin. Band History Kíla began in 1987 in the secondary in Coláiste Eoin, in the first year they busked nearly every wee ...
and Labour Party politician
Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins ( ga, Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, sociologist, and broadcaster, who has served as the ninth president of Ireland since November 2011. Entering national politics throug ...
were among many speakers from the platform. The march disrupted traffic for more than four hours. Protesters demanded that the Irish government stop allowing the United States military to use Ireland's
Shannon Airport Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...
as a transatlantic stop-off point in bringing soldiers to the Middle East.


Italy

The biggest demonstration of the global day of protest took place in Italy in Rome. Nearly 3,000 buses and thirty
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
s were specially chartered to bring people to the demonstration, which was organised under the slogan "Stop the war; no ifs or buts". The organisers were shocked at the size of the turn out and the unexpected number of people forced the demonstration to set off two hours early. 650,000 people (police estimate) took place in a final rally at which there were many international speakers including
Kurds ug:كۇردلار Kurds ( ku, کورد ,Kurd, italic=yes, rtl=yes) or Kurdish people are an Iranian ethnic group native to the mountainous region of Kurdistan in Western Asia, which spans southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Ira ...
, Iraqi dissidents, Palestinians, a representative of the American Council of Christian Churches and an Israeli conscientious objector who addressed the crowd from a stage hung with
Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
's ''
Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...
''. The size of the demonstration meant that the majority of demonstrators did not make it into the final rally and in total three million people (organisers' estimate, supported by the Guinness Book of World Records) were on the streets. This was listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history. According to the ''
Green Left Weekly ''Green Left'', previously known as ''Green Left Weekly'', is an Australian socialist newspaper, written by progressive activists to "present the views excluded by the big business media". The newspaper was founded in 1990. Green Left is the ...
'' (GLW), the demonstration contained people from across Italian society; "Catholic nuns and priests marched alongside young people with dreadlocks, nose rings and Palestinian scarves. Christians, anarchists and communists mingled".


Malta

Approximately 1,000 demonstrated (SW estimate) in Malta. The weather was cold and rainy. After the demonstration an anti-war concert was held in the capital,
Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...
.


Scandinavia

Norway saw its biggest series of protests since 1917. The biggest took place in its capital
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
were more than 60,000 protesters (Police estimate and Socialist Worker estimate) joining a demonstration. Protests of around 15,000 took place in
Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula o ...
and
Trondheim Trondheim ( , , ; sma, Tråante), historically Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem (), is a city and municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. As of 2020, it had a population of 205,332, was the third most populous municipality in Norway, and ...
, and 10,000 in Stavanger. Small protests also took place in at least 30 towns across the country. At the rally in Oslo the vice-chair of the
Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions ( no, Landsorganisasjonen i Norge, LO) is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national union ...
(LO) spoke from the platform claiming that "Bush only cares about American oil interests". In Denmark 20,000 to 30,000 protesters (WSWS estimate) took part in a march in the capital city, Copenhagen. In Sweden, 35,000 demonstrated in Stockholm. and about 25,000 in Gothenburg. In
Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the capital, primate, and most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of Uusimaa in southern Finland, and has a population of . The city ...
, Finland, an estimated 15,000 people participated in one of the largest mass-protests in the republic's history.


Poland

There was a demonstration in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
, Poland of 10,000 people (SW estimate). The demonstration through central Warsaw passed the US embassy. Another protest, organized by the local Wrocław Anti-War Coalition (WKA), was held in the city of
Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
in the market square by the town hall, with 400–500 people participating.


Portugal

In Lisbon, police estimated that around 35,000 people gathered to march through the city. Three former Portuguese prime ministers were in attendance.


Russia

In Russia, which had several demonstrations, the largest occurred in Moscow, with 400 people (WSWS estimate) in attendance.


Serbia

Small demonstrations also took place in
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
, where there was a demonstration of 200 people (WSWS estimate) in the capital city of Belgrade.


Slovakia

It was estimated that 1,000 people marched in the capital of
Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
, Bratislava. The atmosphere of the protest was described as "strongly anti-American and anti-government."


Spain

Spain saw demonstrations in around 55cities and towns across the country; the largest was probably in the capital city
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
, where between 660,000 (Government source's estimate) and 2,000,000 (GLW estimate) took part in what was probably the biggest demonstration since the death of the fascist
dictator A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
Francisco Franco in 1975.
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
also had a large, with estimates of 350,000 ( Delegación de Gobierno), 1,300,000 (Barcelona city hall and
Police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and th ...
) or 1,500,000 (GLW) people joining a demonstration which moved from the Passeig de Gràcia to the Plaça de Tetuan. Spain also had demonstrations of approximately 500,000 in
Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
(GLW estimate), 250,000 in
Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
(GLW estimate) (200,000 Government sources estimate), 100,000 in
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, on the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife), the most populous city in the auto ...
(GLW estimate) and 100,000 in Cadiz' (GLW estimate) as well as over fifty other towns and cities across the country (WSWS estimate). The city of Oviedo had a population of 180,000 and a turnout of 100,000.


Turkey

The main demonstration in
Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
took place in
Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...
, thousands (SW estimate) demonstrated. The local authorities had banned the protest claiming to have worries about national security, however the protest organisers went ahead with the rally under the cover of calling a
press conference A press conference or news conference is a media event in which notable individuals or organizations invite journalists to hear them speak and ask questions. Press conferences are often held by politicians, corporations, non-governmental organ ...
. There were also demonstrations in
Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...
,
Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
,
İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...
,
Zonguldak Zonguldak () is a city and the capital of Zonguldak Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It was established in 1849 as a port town for the nearby coal mines in Ereğli and the coal trade remains its main economic activity. According to the ...
,
İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the ...
,
Antalya la, Attalensis grc, Ἀτταλειώτης , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 07xxx , area_code = (+90) 242 , registration_plate = 07 , blank_name = Licence plate ...
and
Muğla Muğla () is a city in southwestern Turkey. The city is the center of the District of Menteşe and Muğla Province, which stretches along Turkey's Aegean coast. Muğla's center is situated inland at an altitude of 660 m and lies at a dista ...
.


Ukraine

There was also a demonstration in
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
of around 2,000 people (''USA Today'' estimate) joined a "Rock against the war" rally in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Kyi ...
's central square.


United Kingdom


London


=Organisation

= The
Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars. The Coalition has c ...
(StWC), which had previously arranged a series of demonstrations and rallies against the Afghanistan war and the upcoming Iraq war, jointly called the London demonstration with the
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nuc ...
(CND) and the
Muslim Association of Britain The Muslim Association of Britain (MAB) is a British Sunni Muslim organisation founded in 1997. MAB has been well known for its participation in the protests opposing the Iraq War. More recently, it has been known for promoting Muslim partic ...
joined the Stop for this event. In the lead-up to 15 February, the Stop was organising the march from a small office donated by the
National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education The National Association of Teachers in Further and Higher Education (NATFHE) was the British trade union and professional association for people working with those above statutory school age, and primarily concerned with providing education, tr ...
. As the event approached, estimates of the possible number attending rose and in the belief that it would be considerably bigger than the previous demonstrations they had organised Stop agreed with the police for the march to start from two separate locations;
Thames Embankment The Thames Embankment is a work of 19th-century civil engineering that reclaimed marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria Embankment and Chelsea Embankment. History There had been a long history of ...
for Londoners and those travelling in from the south, and Gower Street for those travelling in from the midlands and the north. They planned for the two marches to merge at Piccadilly Circus and then proceed to a rally at Hyde Park.''Stop the War: The story of Britain's biggest mass movement'', Andrew Murray and
Lindsey German Lindsey Ann German
''Evening Standard'' (This is London), 14 May 2004
(born 1951) is a ...
,
The negotiations for this plan faltered when the Labour government's
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport, also referred to as the culture secretary, is a Secretary of State (United Kingdom), secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for strateg ...
Tessa Jowell Tessa Jane Helen Douglas Jowell, Baroness Jowell, (; 18 September 1947 – 12 May 2018) was a British Labour Party politician and life peer who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dulwich and West Norwood, previously Dulwich, from ...
initially instructed the Royal Parks agency to deny permission for the rally in Hyde Park for safety reasons and to protect the grass.
Trafalgar Square Trafalgar Square ( ) is a public square in the City of Westminster, Central London, laid out in the early 19th century around the area formerly known as Charing Cross. At its centre is a high column bearing a statue of Admiral Nelson comm ...
was suggested by Jowell as the alternative venue, but the
Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current m ...
Ken Livingstone insisted it was of insufficient size. The government's decision was reversed by 5 February. Sections of the media supported this demonstration. The ''
Daily Mirror The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'' gave large coverage in the lead up to the march and provided thousands of placards on the day. The demonstration also received sponsorship support from Greenpeace and
Mecca-Cola Mecca-Cola is a cola-flavoured carbonated beverage. The flagship product of the Mecca Cola World Company, it is marketed as an alternative to U.S. brands such as Coca-Cola and Pepsi-Cola to "pro-Muslim" consumers. The product's name contains th ...
. As the date for the march approached the BBC was predicting that around 500,000 people would attend, while the Stop was hoping for numbers to top the symbolically significant million mark.Peace march 'to attract 500,000'
BBC News, 14 February 2003


=Demonstration

= The British
Stop the War Coalition The Stop the War Coalition (StWC), informally known simply as Stop the War, is a British group established on 21 September 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks, to campaign against what it believes are unjust wars. The Coalition has c ...
(Stop) claimed the protest in London was the largest political demonstration in the city's history. Police estimated attendance as well in excess of 750,000 people and the BBC estimated that around a million attended. The weather, on the day of the protest was grey and cold, but reports noted that people remained "in high spirits" as London became
gridlock Gridlock is a form of traffic congestion where "continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill". The term originates from a situation possible in a gr ...
ed and protesters were stuck for hours at Gower Street and the Embankment, the two starting points for the march. The police began the march earlier than intended on safety grounds because of the number of people who had arrived in central London. Hundreds of coaches brought protesters from 250 towns and cities across the UK, with around 100 coaches coming from Wales alone. Many commentators noted the diversity of those attending the march. Euan Ferguson noted in ''
The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the ...
'' that: All police leave in the capital was cancelled for the event, though Scotland Yard later said that it passed off almost without incident. Protesters who managed to reach Hyde Park in time heard various speakers, including Harold Pinter, George Galloway,
Tony Benn Anthony Neil Wedgwood Benn (3 April 1925 – 14 March 2014), known between 1960 and 1963 as Viscount Stansgate, was a British politician, writer and diarist who served as a Cabinet minister in the 1960s and 1970s. A member of the Labour Party, ...
and
Bianca Jagger Bianca Jagger (born Blanca Pérez-Mora Macías; 2 May 1945)
however many were not able to reach the rally as those travelling home by coach had to leave before completing the march route. Protesters at the back end of the march did not reach Hyde Park until hours after the speakers and performers had finished.
Charles Kennedy Charles Peter Kennedy (25 November 1959 – 1 June 2015) was a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 1999 to 2006, and was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ross, Skye and Lochaber from 1983 ...
, then the leader of the Liberal Democrats, was a late addition to the list of speakers. There was some media speculation that he only decided to speak after a lead article in ''The Guardian'' was critical of his absence from the planned speaker list. There had been some controversy within the StWC over allowing Kennedy to speak since his party was committed to opposing the war only in the absence of a second UN resolution, but the coalition decided that failing to invite him "would have been divisive for the movement and would have fragmented anti-war opposition to the war." Because of the size of the march, accurate estimates of the number of people in attendance are difficult. It is relatively uncontentious that the march was the largest ever political demonstration in the UK and the biggest taking to the streets since the
Golden Jubilee weekend The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...
in 2002. In an ICM poll for ''The Guardian'' (14 February 2003 – 16 February 2003), 6% of people claimed that someone from their household went on the march or had intended to. The Stop claims that this translates into 1.25million households and thus supports the estimate of two million people, assuming that more than one person could come from each household. RadioVague in conjunction with the now defunct CableRadio broadcast speeches, music and interviews from the event to the internet throughout the day using a satellite uplink provided by Psand.net. A sole person demonstrated in opposition to the march outside the Iraqi section of the Jordanian Embassy on the dayJacques More a writer from Croydonwith a placard saying that, although a last resort, war is necessary "hen evil dictators rule and murder their own people". Ten years on writer
Ian Sinclair Ian McCahon Sinclair (born 10 June 1929) is a former Australian politician who served as leader of the National Party from 1984 to 1989. He was a government minister under six prime ministers, and later Speaker of the House of Representative ...
assembled an oral history of the demonstration. Journalist
Ellie Mae O'Hagan UK Uncut was a network of United Kingdom-based protest groups established in October 2010 to protest against cuts to public services and tax avoidance in the UK. Various sources have described the group as left-wing in its political orientati ...
, a
UK Uncut UK Uncut was a network of United Kingdom-based protest groups established in October 2010 to protest against cuts to public services and tax avoidance in the UK. Various sources have described the group as left-wing in its political orientati ...
activist, told Sinclair that despite its size "it did absolutely nothing". Other witnesses, such as Milan Rai, are of the opposite opinion: "We achieved a lot, and a hell of a lot more than we realise".
Tariq Ali Tariq Ali (; born 21 October 1943) is a Pakistani-British political activist, writer, journalist, historian, filmmaker, and public intellectual. He is a member of the editorial committee of the ''New Left Review'' and ''Sin Permiso'', and con ...
, one of the speakers in February 2003, said at the tenth anniversary: "I didn’t quite tell them 'Blair is going to go to war regardless of today' but I knew that". "It was a huge show of anger but that's about it. It left no lasting legacy in my opinion." "One demonstration never overturned government policy overnightor very rarelyand on something as strategic and massive as that", commented
Seumas Milne Seumas Patrick Charles Milne (born 5 September 1958)Winchester College: A Register. Edited by P.S.W.K. McClure and R.P. Stevens, on behalf of the Wardens and Fellows of Winchester College. 7th edition, 2014. pp. 582 (Short Half 1971 list heading) ...
in an interview with ''
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...
'' online magazine in October 2012. "So if people imagine one demonstration is going to change everything of course that's wrong, but demos, protests, social organisation, trade union organisation, political organisationall these things are part of the process by which things are going to shift."


Scotland

In addition to the demonstrations in England, the United Kingdom also saw protests in Scotland. Anti-war activists planned a demonstration in
Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
which ended at the
Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre The SEC Centre (originally known as the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre until 2017) is Scotland's largest exhibition centre, locate ...
(SECC) where the Labour Party was holding a conference for party members. The Labour Party requested that the SECC refuse permission for a stage and PA system outside the conference hall. In response to this the then
Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; gd, Pàrtaidh Sòisealach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Socialist Pairtie) is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scotland. The party was founded in 1998. It c ...
MSP
Tommy Sheridan Tommy Sheridan (born 7 March 1966) is a Scottish politician who served as convenor of Solidarity from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) from 1998 to 2004 and as co-convenor of Solidarity from 2 ...
tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament to allow the event to take place, condemning what he claimed were attempts to "stifle all opposition to warmonger Blair". The Labour Party was unsuccessful in blocking the demonstrators' plans. Tony Blair was due to give a speech at the same time as the protesters would have arrived outside the conference centre, but the speech was rescheduled to an earlier time to avoid this. On the day around 50,000 people according to the '' Guardian'' joined the march, which started at
Glasgow Green Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde. Established in the 15th century, it is the oldest park in the city. It connects to the south via the St Andrew's Suspension Bridge. History I ...
. By the time the front of the march had travelled the to the SECC, Blair had delivered his speech and had left the area. One protester was quoted as saying "We've chased him out of town."


Northern Ireland

The
Northern Irish Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
march was held in
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
, where 10,000 (''Guardian'' estimate) to 20,000 (SW estimate) protesters from across the sectarian divide joined the demonstration. The march started at the Arts College at 14:30 and moved through that Royal Avenue towards
Belfast City Hall Belfast City Hall ( ga, Halla na Cathrach Bhéal Feirste; Ulster-Scots: ''Bilfawst Citie Haw'') is the civic building of Belfast City Council located in Donegall Square, Belfast, Northern Ireland. It faces North and effectively divides the comm ...
. Prominent politicians from
Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
, the
Social Democratic and Labour Party The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) ( ga, Páirtí Sóisialta Daonlathach an Lucht Oibre) is a social-democratic and Irish nationalist political party in Northern Ireland. The SDLP currently has eight members in the Northern Ireland ...
(SDLP) and the centrist Alliance Party joined the protest. Sinn Féin president
Gerry Adams Gerard Adams ( ga, Gearóid Mac Ádhaimh; born 6 October 1948) is an Irish republican politician who was the president of Sinn Féin between 13 November 1983 and 10 February 2018, and served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for Louth from 2011 to 2020. ...
spoke from the platform at the end rally saying "If President Bush and Mr Blair want war, it should be war against poverty and for equality." There was also a rally in
Newry Newry (; ) is a City status in Ireland, city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Newry River, Clanrye river in counties County Armagh, Armagh and County Down, Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry ...
in County Down attending by hundreds of protesters (BBC estimate).Dublin brought to a halt by march
Henry McDonald and Nicola Byrne, ''The Observer'', 16 February 2003


Americas


Canada

Canada saw protests in 70 cities and towns (WSWS estimate). The biggest took place in
Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...
where more than 100,000 people protested (SW and WSWS each estimated 150,000) despite windchill temperatures below . 80,000 people joined a demonstration in Toronto, 40,000 in Vancouver, 18,000 (by police estimates) in
Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...
, 8,000 in
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
, 4,000 in Halifax and 6,000 in Ottawa. Some of the other major centres where protests were held included
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
and Calgary There were protests in 70 cities in total. These demonstrations took place despite very cold weather, average temperatures were below . In
Chicoutimi Chicoutimi () is the most populous borough (arrondissement) of the city of Saguenay in Quebec, Canada. It is situated at the confluence of the Saguenay and Chicoutimi rivers. During the 20th century, it became the main administrative and com ...
, 1,500 protested in windchill temperatures of wind-chill temperature in what was one of the coldest marches on that global day of protest.


United States

Protests took place all across the United States of America with
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
reporting that 150 U.S. cities had protests. According to the
World Socialist Web Site The World Socialist Web Site (WSWS) is the website of the International Committee of the Fourth International (ICFI). It describes itself as an "online newspaper of the international Trotskyist movement". The WSWS publishes articles and analys ...
, protests took place in 225 different communities. The largest protests took place in the nation's largest cities including Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York City, but there were also smaller rallies in towns such as Gainesville, Georgia;
Macomb, Illinois Macomb is a city in and the county seat of McDonough County, Illinois, United States. It is situated in western Illinois, southwest of Galesburg. The city is about southwest of Peoria and south of the Quad Cities. A special census held in ...
; and Juneau, Alaska, among scores of others.


New York City

Organisers of the New York City protest had hoped to march past the
headquarters of the United Nations zh, 联合国总部大楼french: Siège des Nations uniesrussian: Штаб-квартира Организации Объединённых Наций es, Sede de las Naciones Unidas , image = Midtown Manhattan Skyline 004.jpg , im ...
. However, a week before the march, police claimed that they would not be able to ensure order and District Court Judge Barbara Jones ruled against allowing the route. Instead, protesters were only permitted to hold a stationary rally. According to Donna Lieberman, executive director of the
New York City Civil Liberties Union New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
, judicial denial of a permit for a protest march was an unprecedented restriction of civil liberties, as marching and parading through streets to express various points-of-view is "a time-honoured tradition in our country that lies at the core of the
First Amendment First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and reco ...
". On that day, over 300 buses and four special trains brought protesters in from across the country. BBC estimates that 100,000 protesters took part in a rally near the UN headquarters. Among those taking part was the 9/11 Families For Peaceful Tomorrows, a group made up of some relatives of victims of the attacks on the World Trade Center. Speakers included politicians, church leaders and entertainers, such as actress
Susan Sarandon Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
and South African Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu. As people tried to reach the rally area they ended up constituting an unplanned march, stretching twenty blocks down First Avenue and overflowing onto Second and Third Avenue. In total estimates range from 300,000 to 400,000 protesters (WSWS estimate). The protests were largely peaceful though a small group of protesters who were reported to have broken off from the main rally, caused damage to property in
Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
, and threw stones at police officers, which resulted in forty arrests. There were numerous complaints that the
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
(NYPD) were too heavy-handed. Many streets were blocked off and protesters reported feeling hemmed in and scared. By the end of the day, police reported that there had been roughly 275 arrests; organisers dispute this number, claiming that there were 348 arrests. The local
Independent Media Center The Independent Media Center, better known as Indymedia, is an open publishing network of activist journalist collectives that report on political and social issues. Following beginnings during the 1999 Carnival Against Capital and 1999 Seatt ...
produced a short video claiming to show inappropriate and violent police behavior, including backing horses into demonstrators, shoving people into the metal barricades, spraying a
toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...
substance at penned-in demonstrators, using abusive language, and raising nightsticks against some who couldn't move. However, NYPD spokesman Michael O'Looney denied the charges claiming that the tape was "filled with special effects" and that it did not prove the police had not been provoked. A CNN journalist reported that the crowd was diverse, including "older men and women in fur coats, parents with young children, military veterans and veterans of the anti-war movement."


Other U.S. cities

At a demonstration in Los Angeles, California, 50,000 (WSWS estimate) to 60,000 (GLW estimate) protesters (CNN said "thousands") marched down
Hollywood Boulevard Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
filling it for four blocks. Amongst the protesters were the actors
Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
and
Mike Farrell Michael Joseph Farrell Jr. (born February 6, 1939) is an American actor, best known for his role as Captain B.J. Hunnicutt on the television series ''M*A*S*H'' (1975–83). Farrell was a producer of ''Patch Adams'' (1998) starring Robin Willi ...
and director
Rob Reiner Robert Norman Reiner (born March 6, 1947) is an American actor and filmmaker. As an actor, Reiner first came to national prominence with the role of Michael "Meathead" Stivic on the CBS sitcom ''All in the Family'' (1971–1979), a performan ...
. Martin Sheen, who at the time was playing a fictitious U.S. president in ''
The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White Hous ...
'', said that "None of us can stop this war... there is only one guy that can do that and he lives in the White House".U.S. sees protests big and small
CNN, 15 February 2003
Other activists in California originally planned to hold a protest in
San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
on the Saturday but they changed to the Sunday in order not to conflict with the city's Chinese New Year's parade. The protest was held on Sunday 16 February. The BBC estimated the crowd size to be 150,000 people, while protest organisers and police agreed that the crowd count was 200,000 people. However, a ''San Francisco Chronicle'' photographic investigation estimated that the number in attendance at the peak period was closer to 65,000 people, although it did not state how many people were in attendance for the duration of the demonstration. There was some controversy over
Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
Michael Lerner not being selected as a speaker for the rally at the end of the demonstration. Lerner claimed that he was not picked to speak for reasons of
anti-semitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
due to his support for the existence of the Israeli state. The organisers responded with a statement that he was not picked because of an arrangement between the groups that organised the demonstration that there would be no speakers that had publicly attacked any other anti-war group and that "since he had publicly attacked A.N.S.W.E.R. in both ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' and Tikkun community email newsletters, his inclusion in the program would violate agreement." They also noted that two rabbis with views similar to those of Michael Lerner would be speaking. In Austin, Texas, 10,000 protestors marched down Congress Avenue from the state capitol building. In
Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...
, 4,000 protesters were dispersed with
pepper spray Pepper spray, oleoresin capsicum spray, OC spray, capsaicin spray, or capsicum spray is a lachrymatory agent (a compound that irritates the eyes to cause a burning sensation, pain, and temporary blindness) used in policing, riot control, ...
, tear gas, stun guns and batons. 34 were arrested on failure to disperse and other charges and at least two protesters had to have hospital treatment. In
Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
, organisers aimed to have 20 to 30 thousand people join a march from
Seattle Center Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needle ...
following a giant blue planet, the emblem adopted by the march organisers. On the day 50,000 people (GLW estimate) turned out to protest under the dual slogan "Stop the war on Iraq; Stop the war on immigrants", more than on the Seattle protests against the WTO Ministerial Conference of 1999. Demonstrations also took place in Philadelphia, where thousands (CNN estimate) joined a march to the Liberty Bell, and in Chicago, where 10,000 people demonstrated (GLW estimate). In
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
a small number of protesters staged a naked protest on Palm Beach. They initially had some problems getting permission for the action, but on the Thursday before, a U.S. District court ruled that the planned nude protest was legal at the public beach. Most of the attendees had come from the four-day Mid-Winter Naturist Festival that was taking place at the same time. There was also a demonstration of 900 people (''USA Today'' estimate) on the island of
Puerto Rico Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
.


Mexico

The chief demonstration in Mexico took place in Mexico City where around 10,000 people (''USA Today'' estimate) joined a demonstration which ended with a rally at a heavily guarded US embassy. Among the demonstrators was
Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolog ...
laureate Rigoberta Menchú.


South America

Protests took place across South America including
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
, where their protest took place on the day before 15 February, Friday. An estimated 70,000 people marched down Montevideo's Avenida18. In Brazil, a protest led by President
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (; born Luiz Inácio da Silva; 27 October 1945), known mononymously as Lula, is a Brazilian politician, trade unionist, and former metalworker who is the president-elect of Brazil. A member of the Workers' Party ...
was attended by 1,500 marchers (Police estimate). In
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
,
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
, an estimate of 50,000 protesters attended which included veterans of the Falklands War of 1982.


Asia

Areas in Asia with large Muslim populations, in particular the countries of the West Asia, had the highest levels of opposition to the proposed Iraq war, however demonstrations in many of these countries were relatively small. One
United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...
newspaper '' Al Bayan'' led with the statement: "The people of the world and more than one million Europeans demonstrate against an attack on Iraq while the Arab people and their leaders are in a deep coma." The reasons for this are no doubt complex, but one factor that is commonly cited is the suppression of protest movements by the conservative leaders of those countries. A report by
Asef Bayat Asef Bayat ( fa, آصف بیات) is an Iranian-American scholar. He is currently the Catherine and Bruce Bastian Professor of Global and Transnational Studies and Professor of Sociology and Middle Eastern studies at University of Illinois at Urban ...
in the
Middle East Report The ''Middle East Report'' is a magazine published by the Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP). The headquarters is in Tacoma, Washington. History and profile MERIP began in 1971 by releasing an irregularly scheduled six-page new ...
suggests that "the Arab governments allow little room for independent dissent" as is shown by the fact that "Since 2000, demands for collective protests against the US and Israel have been ignored by the authorities" and "unofficial street actions have faced intimidation and assault, with activists being harassed or detained".


West Asia

In
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and K ...
, the country in which the war would take place, protesters marched down
Palestine Street Palestine Street or Falastin Street ( ar, شارع فلسطين) is a street located in eastern Baghdad. It runs parallel and to the west of Army Canal between Mustanssiriya square, through Beirut square to Maysalon square, in the neighborhoods of ...
in
Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. I ...
where several thousand Iraqis—many carrying Kalashnikov rifles—joined in the global protests. Unlike the vast majority of protests across the world the protest in Baghdad was also in support of the Baathist regime; it was called by Saddam Hussein as "World Anger Day". Protesters carried posters of Saddam and burned US flags. A large protest also took place on the streets of Damascus in Syria, which borders Iraq. Protesters chanted anti-U.S. and anti-Israeli slogans while marching to the "People's Assembly" in a demonstration of between 10,000 (GLW estimate) to 200,000 protesters (CBS estimate and ''USA Today'' estimate). In
Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
, 10,000 protesters (CBS, GLW estimate) took part in a demonstration in
Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...
. However, the protest ended early when it rained heavily. There were also demonstrations of 5,000 people (GLW estimate) in Amman,
Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
. In
Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
there was a demonstration in
Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...
of approximately 2,000 (''USA Today'' estimate) to 3,000 people (GLW and WSWS estimate). The demonstration contained both
Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
and
Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
. It was organized by a wide range of organizations including the
Communist Party of Israel The Israeli Communist Party, commonly known by its Hebrew acronym Maki (), is a communist political party in Israel and forms part of the political alliance known as Hadash. It was originally known as Rakah, an acronym for ''Reshima Komunistit ...
, the National Democratic Assembly, the Arab Democratic Party, the Independent Media Center, the Alternative Information Center, Ta'ayush, the
Gush Shalom Gush Shalom (Hebrew: גוש שלום, lit. ''The Peace Bloc oalition') is an Israeli peace activism group founded by Uri Avnery in 1993. Avnery–a former journalist, Irgun and Knesset member–also lead the organization till his death in 2018. ...
movement, and the
Organization for Democratic Action The Da'am Workers Party ( ar, حزب دعم العمالي, he, דעם מפלגת פועלים, Da'am Mifleget Po'alim) is a revolutionary socialist Jewish–Arab political party in Israel, where it is commonly known by the acronym Da'am ( ar, ...
. However, it was boycotted by other
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
groups, including
Peace Now Peace Now ( he, שלום עכשיו ''Shalom Achshav'', ) is a non-governmental organization, liberal advocacy and activist group in Israel with the aim of promoting a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Objectives/position ...
and Meretz. The demonstration was coordinated with a similar demonstration which took place in Ramallah.


Other areas in Asia

Small protests took place across Japan mostly being held outside US military bases. The biggest demonstration of the day took place in
Shibuya Shibuya (wikt:渋谷, 渋谷wikt:区, 区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern ...
, where 5,000 (SW estimate) people marched. However, there was a demonstration of 25,000 in Tokyo on Friday, the day before as well as smaller demonstrations in
Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...
and other cities. The Tokyo protests contained Japanese veterans of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
and survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Around 3,000 people (SW estimate) joined an
illegal Illegal, or unlawful, typically describes something that is explicitly prohibited by law, or is otherwise forbidden by a state or other governing body. Illegal may also refer to: Law * Violation of law * Crime, the practice of breaking the ...
demonstration in the
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n city of
Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...
despite police warnings that any participants in a protest would face stern action. The demonstration ended at the US embassy at
Jalan Tun Razak Like all other historical urban centres, the capital city of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, contains a number of current and old roads and streets across the city. This article contains an alphabetical list of notable roads within ...
.
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
had a protest of more than 2,000 people (WSWS estimate) in the capital city of
Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
under the slogan of "No Blood for Oil". India saw protests across the country including 10,000 (BBC estimate) in
Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
. In
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...
2,000 people joined a demonstration in
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; bn, ঢাকা, Ḍhākā, ), formerly known as Dacca, is the capital and largest city of Bangladesh, as well as the world's largest Bengali-speaking city. It is the eighth largest and sixth most densely populated city i ...
. In South Korea there was a demonstration of 2,000 people (WSWS estimate) which took place in the capital city
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
. The protest started with a rally at Ma-ron-i-ea Park after which there was a demonstration that ended in Jong-Myo Park were the size of the protest increased in size to 3,000 people (WSWS estimate). Jong-Myo Park was surrounded by riot police who almost out numbered the protesters. Protests also took place in the South Korean cities of
Pusan Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, ...
,
Taegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...
,
Taejon Daejeon () is South Korea's fifth-largest metropolis, with a population of 1.5 million as of 2019. Located in the central-west region of South Korea alongside forested hills and the Geum River, the city is known both for its technology and ...
,
Kwangju Gwangju () is South Korea's sixth-largest metropolis. It is a designated metropolitan city under the direct control of the central government's Home Minister. The city was also the capital of South Jeolla Province until the provincial office ...
and
Wonju Wonju () is the most populous city in Gangwon Province, South Korea. The city is located approximately east of Seoul. Wonju was the site of three crucial battles during the Korean War. Geography Wonju sits at the southwestern corner of Gangw ...
. No protests were reported as having taken place in mainland China. According to a WSWS correspondent from Beijing there were two factors that explain the lack of protest in mainland China; " appeasement of imperialism and its fear of any public protest, whatever its content." There was a demonstration in Hong Kong of up to 1,000 people (WSWS estimate).


Africa


South Africa

In Johannesburg, around 8,000-10,000 people joined in a colorful and peaceful protest. They toyi-toyied and marched, stopping at the U.S. Consulate General where riot police formed a protective chain around the entrance. In
Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
5,000 (''USA Today'' estimate) to 20,000 protesters (WSWS estimate) joined a demonstration march which started at 10 in the morning on Keizersgracht road and ended at the offices of the US consulate-general which was guarded by a ring of riot police, where there was a rally with speakers. Protests were organised by the Anti-War Coalition and the Stop the War campaign of the
Congress of South African Trade Unions The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is a trade union federation in South Africa. It was founded in 1985 and is the largest of the country's three main trade union federations, with 21 affiliated trade unions.One Union expelled, ...
(Cosatu).Tens of thousands march in South Africa against Iraq war
Eric Graham, WSWS, 18 February 2003
Protests of thousands of people also took place at
Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
and
Bloemfontein Bloemfontein, ( ; , "fountain of flowers") also known as Bloem, is one of South Africa's three capital cities and the capital of the Free State province. It serves as the country's judicial capital, along with legislative capital Cape To ...
. A number of prominent
ANC The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
politicians attended marches. At the Cape Town rally the South African Minister,
Pallo Jordan Zweledinga Pallo Jordan (born 22 May 1942) is a South African politician. He was a member of the National Executive Committee of the African National Congress, and was a cabinet minister from 1994 until 2009. Early life Jordan is the son of th ...
addressed the protesters saying; "We will stop the war. The voice of the people will be heard."


Tunisia

A protest of around 3,000 (SW estimate) in the
Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...
n city of
Sfax Sfax (; ar, صفاقس, Ṣafāqis ) is a city in Tunisia, located southeast of Tunis. The city, founded in AD849 on the ruins of Berber Taparura, is the capital of the Sfax Governorate (about 955,421 inhabitants in 2014), and a Mediterrane ...
was attacked by police who beat the protesters with batons and truncheons, injuring at least 20.


Oceania


Fiji

Protests in Fiji took place on the day before, on Friday morning, heralding the weekend of demonstrations. Protesters handed floral Valentine's Day messages to the representatives of the US, British and Australian governments urging them to avoid the war.


Australia

Friday also saw protests in
Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
, where around 150,000 people (BBC estimate) (Over 200,000 organisers estimate) joined a demonstration. On the Saturday protests also took place in Australia's six state capitals with 200,000 protesters (BBC estimate) demonstrating in Sydney, and an estimated 600,000 demonstrating in cities around the country. The Sydney demonstration included a feeder march of 10,000
trade unionists A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits (su ...
. Beyond the capitals, many major cities and towns around Australia had protests. ;Queensland : Bundaberg (150),
Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airpor ...
(1,000),
Noosa The Shire of Noosa is a local government area about north of Brisbane in the Sunshine Coast district of South East Queensland, Australia. The shire covers an area of . It existed as a local government entity from 1910 until 2008, when it wa ...
(?), Rockhampton (600),
Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...
(800),
Townsville Townsville is a city on the north-eastern coast of Queensland, Australia. With a population of 180,820 as of June 2018, it is the largest settlement in North Queensland; it is unofficially considered its capital. Estimated resident population, 3 ...
(1,000 to 2,000) ;New South Wales :
Armidale Armidale is a city in the Northern Tablelands, New South Wales, Australia. Armidale had a population of 24,504 as of June 2018. Estimated resident population, 30 June 2018. It is the administrative centre for the Northern Tablelands region. I ...
(5,000), Bathurst (peace bus to Canberra 12 Feb) 32, Bellingen (3,000), Bega (400),
Byron Bay Byron Bay (Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a headla ...
(3,000),
Forster, New South Wales Forster is a coastal town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Coast Council LGA, about 308 km north-north-east of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to its twin, Tuncurry, which is the smaller of the t ...
/
Tuncurry Tuncurry is a coastal town in the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales, Australia, in the Mid-Coast Council LGA, about north north east of Sydney. It is immediately adjacent to its twin town of Forster, which is the larger of the two t ...
(700), Kempsey (300),
Kingscliff Kingscliff is a coastal town just south of Tweed Heads in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, Australia, and is a beach community offering a variety of holiday accommodations. Together with the villages of Chinderah and Fingal, it i ...
(1,000), Lismore (7,000),
Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...
(20,000), Tamworth (500),
Taree Taree is a town on the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, Australia. Taree and nearby Cundletown were settled in 1831 by William Wynter. Since then Taree has grown to a population of 26,381, and is the centre of a significant agricultural distr ...
(?), Tathra (1,500),
Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wa ...
(Feb8) (5,000),
Wagga Wagga Wagga Wagga (; informally called Wagga) is a major regional city in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Straddling the Murrumbidgee River, with an urban population of more than 56,000 as of June 2018, Wagga Wagga is the state's la ...
(1,000) ;Tasmania : Launceston (1,000), Strahan (50), Devonport (750) ; Victoria : Geelong (200),
Albury Albury () is a major regional city in New South Wales, Australia. It is located on the Hume Highway and the northern side of the Murray River. Albury is the seat of local government for the council area which also bears the city's name – the ...
,
Mildura Mildura is a regional city in north-west Victoria, Australia. Located on the Victorian side of the Murray River, Mildura had a population of 34,565 in 2021. When nearby Wentworth, Irymple, Nichols Point and Merbein are included, the area h ...
; South Australia :
Mount Gambier Mount Gambier is the second most populated city in South Australia, with an estimated urban population of 33,233 . The city is located on the slopes of Mount Gambier, a volcano in the south east of the state, about south-east of the capital Ad ...
(500), Whyalla (Peace Vigil) ; Western Australia :Margaret River (Peace pilgrimage) (20) ; Northern Territory :Alice Springs (400) At protests in Australia in Bellingen, New South Wales around 2,500 people (SW estimate) joined a rally at the towns sports ground. As well as hearing from speakers, the demonstrators were entertained by a group of a cappella singers called 'The Bushbombs'. The rally was about as large as the town's population.


New Zealand

The first actual demonstration of the day took place in New Zealand where 10,000 people demonstrated in Auckland and Wellington. The Auckland march was bigger than expected, forcing police to shut off Queen Street, Auckland, Queen Street. People were reported to be still starting the march as those at the front of the march reached a rally in Myers Park, Auckland, Myers Park several kilometres away. In Wellington the march had to carry on after the then planned end point as there were too many people to fit into the park. Around 400 to 500 people marched in Hamilton, New Zealand, Hamilton. There were also protests in at least 18 other centres, including Dunedin, Thames, Opotiki, Whakatane, Whangarei, Timaru and Rotorua, and Picnic for Peace in Christchurch.


Antarctica

A group of scientists at the US McMurdo Station held a rally on the ice at the edge of the Ross sea.


Effect

At the time, many commentators were hopeful that this global mobilization of unprecedented scale would stop the coming Iraq war. ''The New York Times'' writer Patrick Tyler claimed that they showed that there were "Second Superpower, two superpowers on the planetthe United States, and worldwide public opinion". The unprecedented size of the demonstrations was widely taken to indicate that the majority of people across the world opposed the war. However, the potential effect of the protests was generally dismissed by pro-war politicians. The Australian Prime Minister, Prime Minister of Australia, John Howard, claimed that the protests were not representative of public opinion, saying "I don't know that you can measure public opinion just by the number of people that turn up at demonstrations." In the United States, the then National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice was reported as saying that the protests would "not affect determination to confront Saddam Hussein and help the Iraqi people". Her view was borne out as the day of protests, along with the protests that followed it, failed to stop the war. However, the protests and other public opposition were seen as a key factor in the decisions of the governments of many countries, such as Canada, to not send troops to Iraq, and of Turkey to deny coalition use of airbases in its territory. The protests have also been cited as a factor strengthening the hand of the "uncommitted six" members of the United Nations Security Council - Angola, Cameroon, Chile, Mexico, and Pakistan. Though demonstrations against the Iraq war and subsequent occupation continued, none of the demonstrations through to 2011 matched the 15 February protest in terms of size. One suggested explanation for this is that people became disillusioned with marching as a political tactic because of the failure of these demonstrations to achieve their explicit aim. In 2006, three years after the protest day, in an article arguing for people to attend a further march, Mike Marqusee put forward two counter arguments to this. Firstly, he claimed that it was too soon to judge the long-term significance of the demonstrations. As examples, he stated, "People who took part in the non-cooperation campaigns in India in the 20s and 30s had to wait a long time for independence," and "There were eight years of protest and more than 2 million dead before the Vietnam war came to an end". Secondly, he claimed that while the effect of marching may be uncertain, the effect of not marching would make it more likely that the occupation would continue. Despite failing in its explicit aim, the 15 February global day of anti-war protests had many effects that, according to some, were not directly intended. According to United Kingdom left-wing anti-war activist Salma Yaqoob, one of these was that they were a powerful antidote to the idea that the war was a "Clash of Civilizations", or a religious war, an idea she claimed was propagated both by Western leaders and reactionary forces in the Arab world. This is echoed in the words of former Hizb ut-Tahrir organiser Hadiya Masieh who said of the non-Muslims marching in London "How could we demonise people who obviously opposed aggression against Muslims?".


See also

* ''We Are Many (film), We Are Many'', a 2014 documentary film about 15 February 2003 protest * Protests against the Iraq War * September 2019 climate strikes - largest worldwide climate strike in history * The 2005 novel ''Saturday (novel), Saturday'' is set in London on this day, against the backdrop of the protest


References


Further reading


''We Are Many''
documentary film and website about the 15 February 2003 movements
''15 February 2003''
multimedia documentary online

Larry Neilson, QuickTime movie * ''Stop the War: The story of Britain's biggest mass movement'', Andrew Murray and
Lindsey German Lindsey Ann German
''Evening Standard'' (This is London), 14 May 2004
(born 1951) is a ...
,
Archived copy of United for Peace and Justice's organizing webpage for the February 15, 2003, demonstrations
(includes list of cities)


External links


Cities jammed in worldwide protest of war in Iraq
CNN article. February 2003.
Over 200 Pictures from 133 Protests around the World on February 15/16, 2003

15feb2003.co.uk: Archived interviews from London on February 15, 2003

Sound montage from London February 15, 2003
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anti-war protest 2003-02-15 Protests against the Iraq War Peace marches 2003 in politics 2003 protests February 2003 events 2003 in Europe 2003 in North America 2003 in South America 2003 in Asia 2003 in Africa 2003 in Oceania 2003 in Antarctica 2003 in Central America