Report on the March 20 Anti-War Protests

By Gerry Fiori

NEW YORK—The "other superpower", the worldwide antiwar movement, proved itself to be alive and well on March 20 as over 2 million people took to the streets to protest the U.S. war against Iraq and the continuing occupation of that country.

Marches took place in over 60 countries around the world—from Spain to South Africa and from South Korea to Chile—in an event called by the World Social Forum on the anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq war.

Over 1 million marched in Rome, where protesters demanded that Italy withdraw its 2600 troops from Iraq. Some 150,000 demonstrated in Barcelona and 100,000 in Madrid; the main banner there featured a black sash, the symbol of mourning for the over 200 people who died last month in the Madrid train bombing—for which many in Spain blamed the outgoing government’s support for the Iraq war.

Close to 100,000 demonstrated on March 20 in central London, 30,000 in Tokyo, 10,000 in Paris, 10,000 in Brussels, 10,000 in Bogota, 10,000 in Santiago de Cuba, 7000 in Athens, 5000 in Seoul, 5000 in Buenos Aires, 5000 in Bern, 4000 in Santiago, Chile, 3000 in Amsterdam, and 3000 in Cairo—while 6000 marched in Baghdad.

In this country, over 300 cities and towns held their own demonstrations on the same day. The U.S. marches were initiated and organized by United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) as well as by International ANSWER (Act Now Against War and Racism) and many local coalitions.

An estimated 100,000 people marched in Manhattan, chanting "Bring the Troops Home Now! The U.S. protests included 50,000 in San Francisco, 20,000 in Los Angeles, 10,000-15,000 in Portland, Ore., 15,000 in Seattle, 10,000 in Chicago, 3000 in Philadelphia, 2000-4000 in St. Paul, 2500 in Ann Arbor, and 2000 in Pittsburgh.

On Feb. 15 of last year, on the eve of war, 12 million marched worldwide, including 500,000 in New York, demanding that the U.S. not invade Iraq. Last year’s demonstrations were fueled by a number of factors—a general opposition to war, a sense that the planned war was purely for control of oil, and concern about the U.S. government launching a war in violation of international law and the underlying arrogance of such a move.

In contrast, this year’s demonstration was marked by outrage at the exposed lies of the Bush administration about "weapons of mass destruction," the blatant patronage of American corporations with ties to the White House, and the continuing death toll in Iraq a year after the war was supposed to have been "won."

There were far fewer people this year with signs quoting Mahatma Gandhi or appealing to the United Nations, and many more calling for the rapid withdrawal of U.S. troops or attacking Bush and his cronies.

The New York march originated at Madison Square Park, in lower Midtown Manhattan, and extended over 20 blocks northward. After an initial rally, the crowd began a circular march through much of Midtown, arriving back at the original site for a wind-up rally. At one point, the front and rear of the march almost touched in a huge circle.

Police presence was relatively subdued and arrests were few, though there were still attempts to limit participation by allowing entrance at only a few places and refusing to let back in people who had left the march area. This was in great contrast to last year, when the city denied a marching permit to the demonstration organizers, police penned in protesters block by block behind steel barriers, and massive numbers of arrests were made in brutal circumstances (including protesters being trampled by mounted cops).

The reason for the "gentler" treatment by City Hall may be partly due to a public relations effort by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to portray the city as "safe" in light of the upcoming Republican Party national convention in the summer. It also, however, was the result of a civil liberties campaign waged by UFPJ and its supporters to prevent a repeat of the last year’s police-state-like tactics.

In San Francisco, protesters of all ages—including many families—filled the streets on March 20. The march, which far exceeded in size the expectations of the organizers, made its way jubilantly through the city’s largely Latino Mission District for a rally at the Civic Center.

Unfortunately, the protest was marred at the end of the day by a violent police attack on a small contingent of young people who had left the main rally. Witnesses say that after some of the protesters blocked traffic at a downtown intersection, police provoked a confrontation. About 90 demonstrators were arrested, including five on felony assault charges. Most of the corporate media, of course, chose to concentrate their coverage on the police action, while downplaying the huge peaceful demonstration that preceded it.

The huge outpouring for the March 20 demonstrations was vivid proof of the vast sentiment in this country and around the world against the criminal actions of U.S. imperialism.

It is worth pointing out, however, that much of the focus nationwide both in the crowds and from the speakers was to attack the war and occupation as the policy of Bush and the Republicans alone. It was as if the Democrats hadn’t supported the war from the start, and as if President Clinton hadn’t bombed Iraq just a few years earlier.

While people are justly angered by the criminal actions of Bush and Co., the notion that voting Bush out of office in November will solve anything is an illusion. It ignores the collusion of both capitalist parties in war and murder against the Iraqi people (including the 1.5 million Iraqis who died from the U.S./UN blockade during the Clinton administration).

The fact is that no politician in either party is calling for an immediate end to the occupation and self-determination for Iraq. In order to be effective, and for the sake of the Iraqi people, the U.S. antiwar movement must remain completely independent of both of the twin parties of capitalism, war, and imperial conquest.

The article above first appeared in the April 2004 issue of Socialist Action newspaper.