One year on, and still the hard core march the world over

By COLE MORETON

A year ago Robert Smith shuffled across Waterloo Bridge with his young son on his shoulders, an apolitical banker amazed to find himself marching with a million people to stop the war on Iraq. Yesterday he stayed in Surrey and walked the dog.

From Sydney to Los Angeles, others marked the anniversary of the conflict by turning out to protest against a war that allegedly finished months ago, and call for an end to an occupation that even its instigators wish they could finish.

There were demonstrations in more than 300 cities across the world - more even than on the eve of war. But these were nothing like the mass rallies of early 2003. London was one big protest then, every street in the city centre crammed with people. The invasion went ahead anyway.

Yesterday there were just enough to fill Trafalgar Square. Organisers estimated 100,000; the police, 25,000.

The first march of the day had been in Sydney, where 200,000 gathered last year to protest against their government's support for the war. Yesterday only 3,000 rallied behind a caged effigy of their Prime Minister, John Howard.

A similar number gathered in Japan, which has troops in Iraq, and 1,500 South Korean students chanted in Seoul. New Zealand, Hong Kong and Thailand also saw protests. Police fired water cannons in the Philippines. US flags were burned in India and Egypt. German protesters gathered in Berlin, Frankfurt and outside a US military base near Landstuhl.

In Poland 700 people chanted outside the palace of the President, who now says he was "misled" by pre-war intelligence reports on WMD. An effigy of George Bush was torn to pieces in the Ukraine, which has troops serving in the Polish-led peacekeeping force in southern Iraq.

Numbers of protesters were down everywhere except Spain, where an anti-war government swept to power last Sunday in the wake of terrorist bombings. Large crowds were expected in Madrid last night.

In London Ann Appleby, a retired 59-year-old nurse from Ealing in west London, said: "I think London is under more of a threat now than when Mr Blair and Mr Bush went to war - they made it a lot worse. I would like to see our troops out of Iraq."

Bilal Alkhaffaf, a 24-year-old doctor originally from Mosul in Iraq but now living in Manchester, said: "It wouldn't matter if there were 10 or 100,000 or two million people here, because the cause is still as just. Iraq needs to be handed back to the Iraqis."

James Tweedie, 29, an NHS worker from west London, admitted: "There has been a bit of apathy recently. That is what the Government wants."

Mr Blair is only too aware that anger and disappointment at the war still run high among many British people. So why were there so few people on the march yesterday?

"You're asking for trouble going to the West End," said Robert Smith, who asked for his real name to be withheld.

"I keep away from there as much as possible."

Madrid had been a reminder of the threat of terrorist attack. He wouldn't choose to take his son to London on a Saturday now.

"People at work are the same - afraid. Everyone hurries home after the office."

Andy Barker from Hackney had different reasons for staying away.

"What's the point? A million of us turned out to say no to war and were totally ignored." Yesterday Andy went to the football.

Besides the foul weather and the shopping for Mothering Sunday, there was another reason people stayed away, as 21-year-old demonstrator Janie Hughes, from Birmingham, conceded.

"I'm sure Tony Blair and George Bush would love to get the hell out of Iraq as soon as possible, with no further loss of British or American life," she said.

"We think they should. Now!" And those marching around her cheered.

But it's not as easy as that, as Mr Bush and Mr Blair and many of the former protesters who felt it would not be worth marching yesterday know.

The mess has been made. Iraq is still in violent chaos. Stop the war? Everyone agrees on that, from the Pentagon to the plinth beneath Nelson's Column. They just don't know how.

A MILLION ON MARCH

More than a million anti-war protesters poured into the streets of cities around the globe on yesterday's anniversary of the invasion of Iraq to demand the withdrawal of United States-led troops.

Europe: Reporters estimated that at least a million people streamed through Rome, in probably the biggest single protest.

In London, two anti-war protesters evaded security to climb the landmark Big Ben clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, unfurling a banner reading "Time for Truth". About 25,000 demonstrators gathered in central London, many carrying "Wanted" posters bearing images of US President George. W Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

North America: In New York, up to 100,000 created a sea of signs in midtown Manhattan, many of them criticising Bush, who is running for re-election in November.

In San Francisco, a diverse group of protesters gathered for a raucous rally in front of city hall.

Anti-war activists gathered in Fayetteville, North Carolina, home of Fort Bragg, one of the biggest US military basis. Soldiers, veterans and local residents staged two counter-demonstrations, but there were military veterans and families among the anti-war groups.

Australia and Asia: In Sydney, more than 3000 chanting "end the occupation, troops out" marched through the city centre.

In Tokyo, several thousand carried signs saying "US Go Home". In Seoul, about 1500 people staged a peaceful anti-war demonstration.

DEFENDING THE WAR

Bush renewed his defence of the war, insisting it had removed a major cause of instability in the Middle East. He said Iraq was now an example to the region after the ousting of former leader Saddam Hussein.

"Men and women across the Middle East, looking to Iraq, are getting a glimpse of what life in a free country can be like. One year ago this week, ground forces of a strong coalition entered Iraq to liberate that country from the rule of a tyrant.

"For the Iraqi people, it was the beginning of their deliverance. The liberation of Iraq was good for the Iraqi people, good for America, and good for the world. The fall of the Iraqi dictator has removed a source of violence, aggression, and instability from the Middle East. The worst regime in the region was given way to what will soon be among the best."

TERROR GROUPS 'STRONGER'

A former White House terrorism adviser said Bush's decision to invade Iraq had strengthened terror groups.

Richard Clarke, Bush's top official on counter-terrorism who headed a cybersecurity board before retiring, told CBS 60 Minutes: "Osama bin Laden had been saying for years, 'America wants to invade an Arab country and occupy it, an oil-rich Arab country'. So what did we do after September 11? We invade ... and occupy an oil-rich Arab country which was doing nothing to threaten us. The result is that al Qaeda and organisations like it ... have been greatly strengthened."



- INDEPENDENT



Herald Feature: Iraq