Anti-war demonstrators protest outside the Houses of Parliament in London March 20, 2003 against the war in Iraq

LONDON , March 22 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Opponents of the unjustified war on Iraq are to return to the streets of London by thousands on Saturday, March 22.

The Stop the War Coalition said it is expecting a "substantial demonstration," if not as big as the million-strong march-, the biggest ever seen in London in recent memory, last February 15, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported.

Like that demonstration, Saturday's protest is to involve two streams, one from the University of London in the Bloomsbury district, the other at Embankment on the River Thames, converging at Piccadilly Circus .

The marchers were then to proceed to Hyde Park for a full afternoon of speeches.

In Gloucestershire, in the west of England , several thousand more protesters were expected outside the RAF Fairford base, where 14 U.S. air force B-52 bombers are positioned.

Campaigners were being asked to bring wreaths to lay at the base for "the death of our democracy and for all the victims of the biggest preventable tragedy in history."

Gloucestershire police said they expected between 3,000 and 5,000 people to attend the event.

More than 3,000 police were being deployed to keep order during the London march, though previous anti-war demonstrations have gone off without serious incident.

Saturday's march was being co-organized by the Stop the War Coalition, the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), and the Muslim Council of Britain.

CND chair Carol Naughton said: "The worldwide outrage over this war has meant that we have not seen the expected massive bombardment of Iraq ."

"If we had seen on our television screens whole cities alight, along with huge numbers of civilian deaths, there would have been uproar all over the world," she said.

"It is now vital that people keep protesting to keep up the pressure on our government. We now hope and pray that this war is over as soon as possible," she added.

Mass Rallly Planned Acorss U.S.

Anti-war protesters walk west on Wacker Drive in Chicago

In the United States , major anti-war demonstrations and rallies are planned across the United States on Saturday as U.S. and British occupation forces entered the third day of their barbaric assault on Iraq.

Marchers in Washington will converge on the White House, while protests are also planned in New York , San Francisco , Los Angeles and other cities around the country.

In Washington , veterans opposed to the war announced a three-day "Operation Dire Distress" to be kicked off Saturday, followed Sunday, March 23, by a march to the Vietnam , Korea and World War II memorials.

"While others pontificate and theorize about war, veterans know about its realities," organizers said.

"The present administration is led by men and women who chose not to go into the military and today have little understanding of war and no comprehension of its consequences," Veterans Against Iraq War said in a statement.

In New York , the anti-war protesters will also support civil liberties at home, United for Peace and Justice NYC said, adding: "We won't let the Bush administration use the attacks of 9/11 to justify an unprovoked and indefensible war."

Police were girding up for large protests on the weekend, especially in Washington , calling in reinforcements to help ensure the demonstrations are orderly.

Since the war began on Thursday, March 22, hundreds of anti-war rallies across the United States have swelled and intensified, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets, some paralyzing traffic and clashing with police.

An anti-war protester shackled to warn that U.S.-led war will exact heavy civilians toll

Also on Sunday, a rally coinciding with the Academy Awards ceremony will be held in Hollywood to honor those in the entertainment industry who have spoken out for peace, organizers said.

Speculation has been rife over whether top stars such as Meryl Streep and Susan Sarandon, who have been outspoken in their opposition to the Iraq war, will voice their views at the Oscar presentations, as about one billion people tune in around the world.

Some pro-peace celebrities including Dustin Hoffman, best actress nominee Julianne Moore, funnyman Jim Carrey and heart-throb Ben Affleck will reportedly be donning "Win Without War" badges at the Oscars.

In anti-war demonstrations on the U.S. west coast Friday, March 21, some 220 activists were arrested in San Francisco a day after 1,400 demonstrators were detained at the start of the war.

The latest detentions, cracking down on a massive campaign of civil disobedience, coincided with a new wave of protests, including one in Los Angeles where 27 people, including clerics, were detained when several hundred anti-war demonstrators turned out.

Organizers of the civil disobedience campaign have said they would continue blocking intersections and bridges, shackling themselves to street furniture and creating human cordons to snarl up traffic as long as the war continues.

Anti-War Protests Continue In Australia

An Australian uses his surfboard to protest war on Iraq

Thousands of demonstrators took to Australian streets Saturday, bringing traffic to a standstill in several cities as anti-war protests erupted around Australia for the third consecutive day.

In the Western Australian capital of Perth , an estimated 10,000 people marched to the Esplanade to hear speeches by peace activists and union officials demanding an end to war on Iraq .

Across the country in Brisbane , a group of about 200 people broke away from a 3,000-strong protest rally to stage a sit-down protest in one of the eastern city's main thoroughfares.

Traffic police, mounted police and federal police were on hand to control the protest, which by and large ended peacefully after political leaders, peace activists, an Iraqi refugee and musicians addressed the crowd.

In Hobart , capital of the island state of Tasmania , about 2,500 anti-war protesters staged a rally following a march through the city streets by about 1,000 people.

A similar event in Launceston, in the state's north, attracted about 400 people.

Organizers said the mood against war remained strong even though the conflict had begun, with a student strike planned for next Wednesday.

Thousands Protest In New Zealand

Several thousand people marched in cities around New Zealand Saturday in protest against the United States-led war on Iraq .

In Wellington , about 2,000 protesters gathered in the Civic Square before marching to Parliament and on to the U.S. embassy, by which time their numbers had swelled to 4,000, police said.

A minute's silence was observed outside the embassy, while anti-war speeches were made at each venue.

In Auckland , thousands of protesters marched from downtown to Myers Park where a rally was addressed by various speakers.

March organizers Global Peace and Justice Auckland said anger at what it called "this illegal and immoral war" was very strong.

A peace vigil in Christchurch was attended by about 100 people and a Peace and Music Festival was being held at a tiny settlement near Nelson in the South Island .

Anti-War Strike Shuts Down Bangladesh

Thousands of Bangladeshis took to the streets to protest the U.S. invasions

A nationwide general strike called to protest the U.S.-led war on Iraq shut down predominantly Muslim Bangladesh on Saturday and small anti-war demonstrations were held in other cities across Asia .

Security was tight in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka for Saturday's protest strike with police and paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles posted at key points.

Schools, shops and private offices were shut, but some banks and government offices were open, witnesses said.

A small group of protestors carrying sticks and shouting anti-U.S. slogans gathered outside Dhaka 's main Baitul Mukarram mosque, but no other demonstrations were reported. Riot police ringed the protestors.

The strike was called by left-wing parties led by the Communist Party of Bangladesh, the Islamic Law Implementation Committee and other groups.

"This war is against humanity," a protest leader said. " America is not a global cop," read a poster.

Indonesians Lash Out At Bush, Blair, Howard

Indonesians branded Bush, Blair and Howard as "terrorists" and "war criminals."

Thousands of Indonesian Muslims staged peaceful demonstrations on Saturday against the U.S.-led war on Iraq as protests gathered steam in the world's most-populous Muslim country.

Some 3,000 protestors picketed the U.S. embassy in Jakarta , branding U.S. President George W. Bush and his allies British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian Prime Minister John Howard "terrorists" and "war criminals."

The rally was organized by the Hizb-ut-Tahrir Indonesia Muslim group.

"We condemn the evil aggression against Iraq . Bush, Blair and Howard should be brought to the international court of justice as war criminals," the group said in a statement.

The protestors, many of them women, carried a coffin to symbolize the death of the United Nations, which failed to prevent war on Iraq .

Anti-U.S. protests have erupted in Indonesia since the United States launched the war on Iraq on Thursday.

On Friday, some 2,000 people from various groups rallied outside the US consulate in the country's second-largest city Surabaya and symbolically sealed a McDonald's outlet and a Citibank building.

The Indonesian government, for its part, has described the U.S. attack as an illegal act of aggression.

On Friday the government rejected a U.S. call for countries to sever diplomatic relations with Saddam Hussein's regime and expel Iraqi diplomats.

South Koreans Rebuff Sending Troops To Iraq

Hundreds of South Koreans protesting at the U.S.-led war against Iraq raised red cards reading "stop war" and urged the South Korean government to cancel plans to dispatch troops to what they called an "unjustified" war.

Buddhist monks struck giant drums on a podium to console the spirits of victims of the war as a poem was read and entertainers performed on a stage outside the City Hall in central Seoul .

"Bush can win the battle but he will never be able to win the hearts of the Iraqi people," human rights activist Park Won-Soon said over a loudspeaker.

"Bush is the war criminal," he said in front of an estimated crowd of 2,000.

A statement read at the rally said the South Korean government was seeking to secure a U.S. guarantee for a peaceful solution to the stand-off over North Korea 's nuclear program in return for Seoul 's support for the U.S. war efforts.

"It would be an immoral, unthinkable trade," the statement said.

"We cannot force tears from others for our own peace and security. How could we talk about peace and appeal for help from the international community (for a peaceful solution of the nuclear issue) after we join an illegal war of aggression?" it said.

South Korea on Friday decided to send up to 700 non-combatant troops, including up to 600 construction engineers and up to 100 medical personnel, to Iraq .