17 Feb 2003

Not in my name. On Saturday, a million people march through the streets of London to protest the rush to war with Iraq. Although organisers and the government quibble about the exact number (750,000 - 2m) it was still the largest march in British history. They took two routes, one from the south through Westminster and the other from Camden in the North -- stopping traffic and business along the way. It was a peaceful march, there were a few skirmishes and arrests, but generally well behaved (although Hyde Park was a bit of a mess afterwards.) There were young and old, families, students, a far more eclectic crowd than one would expect at a political march. They gathered to hear Tony Benn and Jesse Jackson, liberal democrat leader Charles Kennedy, London Mayor Ken Livingstone beg Blair and Bush to find other alternatives to the Iraq question. It was thrilling, and a bit scary to be part of it. I joined the march at Westminster and made my way up to Hyde Park. It was freezing cold, grey and gloomy and sombre -- appropriate, no? If you disagree with war, then let your politicians and leaders know.

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