War in the Gulf: Global protests rage (as contributor)
March 21, 2003 - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Moscow—- American flags burned from Bangladesh to Berlin, as street protesters around the globe pilloried the United States for attacking Iraq. Reaction from world leaders was less uniformly negative, with President Bush’s allies standing by him, even in the face of public opposition.
Protesters banged pots in Manila and painted ‘‘Bush, your empire will eventually crumble’’ on walls in Caracas, Venezuela. They stoned the U.S. Embassy in Brussels, and threw bricks and eggs at a local party office of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, a Bush ally. In Srinagar, capital of heavily Muslim Kashmir, schoolboys watched TV footage of explosions in Baghdad and cheered when Iraqi President Saddam Hussein appeared.
‘‘Stupid war, mindless violence,’’ said a placard in a sea of 50,000 anti-war demonstrators converging on Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate. An estimated 45,000 students and labor union members marched in Milan, Italy, and police parked cars across Rome streets to keep protesters away from the U.S. Embassy.
In Paris, hundreds of police in riot gear stood behind barricades and a wall of police transport trucks, guarding the gates of the U.S. consulate and embassy buildings at Place de la Concorde. Student-led protests started early in the day across the city, bringing traffic in most places to a standstill, then converged on Concorde toward sunset.
Leaders of France, China and Russia, all of whom argued against the war in recent weeks, continued their criticism of the United States.
‘‘France regrets this action taken without the authority of the United Nations,” said President Jacques Chirac. “No matter how long this conflict lasts, it will have serious consequences for the future.”
China said the attack on Iraq was against ‘‘the norms of international behavior.’‘
Russian President Vladimir Putin said the war was a ‘‘major political mistake’’ that breached international law.
‘‘At the time the operation began, Iraq posed no threat to its neighbors or other nations in the world, especially after the 10-year blockade made it a weak country, both economically and militarily,” Putin said. “What is more, it presented even less danger while international inspectors were working there.”
Officials in Pakistan and Indonesia—- important U.S. allies in the fight against terrorism—- strongly criticized the strikes against Iraq, although Pakistani officials said Saddam shared the blame because he did not pursue all possibilities to avoid war.
In Washington, the White House said the criticism would not deter it from pursuing the war.
‘‘The president understands and respect the thoughts of those who disagree, but the United States and the coalition of willing will not be deterred from the mission to disarm Saddam Hussein,’’ said spokesman Ari Fleischer.
Here and there, even among leaders who staunchly oppose the Iraqi war, was a sense of resignation and an effort to begin healing.
In Germany, Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said in a televised speech that ‘‘the wrong decision was taken.’’ Yet he added: “The differences over the war are clear differences of opinion among governments, not deep-seated differences between friendly peoples. The substance of our relations with the United States of America is not endangered.’‘
In Canada, where the war is opposed, Prime Minister Jean Chretien sought to smooth relations with Washington, saying, ‘‘We must do nothing to comfort Saddam Hussein.’‘
Despite the harsh words from Putin, Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Russia and America ‘‘remain partners, not opponents, despite the war in Iraq.’‘
And France’s Chirac appealed for solidarity among nations to deal with the aftermath. ‘‘We must join with our allies and the whole international community to deal together with the challenges that await us,’’ he said.
Support for the war came from American allies, including Britain, Australia and Spain.
Speaking to Parliament, British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon said force was a last but necessary resort. ‘‘Just as Saddam failed to take his final opportunity to disarm by peaceful means, so he has now failed to take his final opportunity to depart in peace and avoid the need for coalition military action,’’ he said.
‘‘There were more comfortable options,’’ Spain’s Aznar said in a televised speech. But ‘‘we don’t want to postpone until the future the risks that we have to face now.’‘
—- Contributing: AJC correspondent Joe Ray; Cox newspapers correspondents Bob Deans, Mike Williams and Susan Ferriss; New York Times correspondent John Tagliabue; and Associated Press correspondent Robert Barr.
