Pacifists protest possible war against Iran
Hundreds of protesters demonstrated on Saturday in New York and
pacifist groups took to the streets in dozens of other US and Canadian
cities in a "Day of Mass Action" against a possible war with Iran.
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Demonstrators hold placards and shout slogans during a “No
War on Iran” protest in Los Angeles, California, on February
4. AFP |
About 500 protesters gathered in Manhattan's Times Square and marched
to the headquarters of the US mission to the United Nations and to the
Israeli consulate.
"No war, no sanctions, no intervention, no assassinations," read a
banner leading the march.
The demonstrations came as Europe and the United States slapped tough
new sanctions on Iran, and Israel this week launched new threats of
military intervention if the Islamic republic fails to rein in its
suspected nuclear development program.
There is heightened speculation that Israel is contemplating air
strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, fueled in part by US Defense
Secretary Leon Panetta's comments to the Washington Post in which he
said he believes there is a "strong possibility" that Israel will launch
such air strikes this spring.
Iran admits it has a nuclear program but insists it is for peaceful
purposes like generating electricity.
"The actions of the Iranian government in no way justify a US war on
Iran," Debra Sweet, director of the organization "The World Can't Wait,"
told AFP at the New York march.
The protest joined efforts from a coalition of about 60 pacifist and
human rights organizations.
A leaflet distributed at the New York demonstration said "in many
ways, US war on Iran has already begun," citing as examples "harsh
economic sanctions" against Tehran, "killing Iranian scientists in car
bombings" and that "US aircraft carriers are right off Iran's shore." "I
don't know what (US President Barack) Obama will do but I do know what
he has done, which is very hard sanctions that only will hurt ordinary
people," Sweet said.
In Los Angeles, activists dressed themselves in orange prison
jumpsuits and wore black hoods similar to Guantanamo detainees as part
of the anti-war protest there.
Other peace marches were held Saturday in Boston, Chicago,
Philadelphia, San Francisco, Washington and other US cities, according
to organizers.
In Canada protests were staged in Calgary and Vancouver, and events
were also planned in Britain, Ireland and India.
AFP
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