 At least 20,000 people marched through London Saturday to demand that British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US President George W Bush stop IsraelÂ’s offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon. The demonstration passed the US Embassy and the office of the prime minister who worked the telephones to arrange for a draft UN Security Council resolution aimed at ending the conflict, which began when Hezbollah captured two Israeli soldiers on July 12.
| “It’s about telling the British and US governments that we want an unconditional ceasefire. We’re the people who have the power to stop the Israelis in Lebanon...” |
The Metropolitan Police said around 20,000 protesters marched through central London, while the organisers, the left-wing Stop the War Coalition, claimed a turn-out of around 100,000. A few hundred yards from Blair’s office the demonstrators massed opposite the Houses of Parliament. Stop the War spokesman John Rees said that the protest was to hammer home a message to Blair. “It’s about telling the British and US governments that we want an unconditional ceasefire. We’re the people who have the power to stop the Israelis in Lebanon,” he insisted. “Their silence is permitting mass murder in Lebanon by the Israeli forces. Look at the casualties: it’s eight to one.” Salma Yaqoob, chairwoman of Stop the War in Britain’s second city of Birmingham, said: “We’re here to protest because of Israel’s attack in Lebanon and the fact that Britain, America and Israel are on one side and 160 countries are on the other side.” |