WASHINGTON,
September 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Protesters began a
march Sunday, September 29, against the Bush administration's position
on Iraq, wrapping up three days of demonstrations in opposition to the
World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
The
demonstrators started their march with a rally in the popular
Washington district known as Dupont Circle at 1800 GMT, then proceeded
up the downtown Washington street known as "Embassy Row",
with planned stops at the diplomatic outposts of countries that
support the U.S. hard line position against Baghdad, reported Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
Organizers
from the National Network to End the War against Iraq said in a
statement that they would prompt marchers "to cheer those
Embassies who have held firm in their stance against a U.S. attack
against Iraq."
"We're
just having a day of action here, a demonstration against the war in
Iraq," said spokesman, Mike Zmoleck. "We're going to be
marching to 20 different embassies, stopping at some to leave messages
of solidarity."
The
marchers' final scheduled stop was the embassy of Britain,
Washington's staunchest ally in the effort to remove Saddam Hussein
from power in Iraq, Zmoleck said. British Embassy representatives
would be "coming out to meet us," he added.
Nearly
2,000 people had gathered before the rally and march, Zmoleck said,
which had been cleared by the Washington city police.
"It
looks good... it should come off as a very peaceful demonstration. I
think (the protestors') message is going to get out."
The
march is to wind up at the Naval Observatory, the official residence
for U.S. vice Presidents, an entrance which directly faces the Embassy
of Britain, Washington's top ally in its campaign to oust Saddam
Hussein from the Iraqi leadership.
In
their journey towards the Observatory, the marchers were to pass a
statue of the venerated anti-war activist Mahatma Gandhi. Organizers
recommended that marchers "bring flowers to lay at the feet of
Gandhi's statue."
Thousands
of police, many brought in from cities including New York and Chicago,
have, since Friday, September 27, been deployed around the city in
anticipation of the protests that sought to disrupt the annual World
Bank and IMF meetings.
More
than 650 people have been detained by Washington police since the
protests began, with 649 arrests coming Friday on mostly minor
charges.
Despite
police plans to contain more than 20,000 activists seeking to disrupt
the meetings, an estimated 5,000 showed up Saturday, September 28, and
their presence was barely felt by the thousands of tourists who
typically crowd Washington on the weekends.
Many
of those same protesters gathered Sunday for a series of
"People's Assemblies" - workshops discussing the continued
efforts "to build a movement for global/local justice,"
according to a statement from Mobilization for Global Justice, which
organized the Saturday march.
Other
demonstrators gathered Sunday at the American University, just blocks
away from the Observatory, to discuss U.S. policy toward Iraq.
