Worldwide Anti-War Protests Continue

Anti-war protesters marched in major cities around the world to commemorate those killed during the war in Iraq and urge foreign troops to leave the war-torn nation soon.

Many protesters warned that the U.S.-led war on Saddam Hussein's regime seriously disrupted world order. Others said the military campaign, which did not have U.N. authorization, was illegitimate and called President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair war criminals.

"I think the war is not ending — it's only just started," said Sue Wyndham, a 54-year-old protester in London. "They're going to go into Syria or Korea next, anywhere they feel they can use their power."

Tens of thousands of protesters, many holding placards demanding "No occupation of Iraq," held two minutes' silence for the victims of war before marching through London. They tossed bunches of yellow daffodils at the gates of Blair's home.

In Rome, tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through central Rome and warned of "an infinite global war."

"This is the beginning of a whole new war by the United States, which is also trying to control Cuba, Syria, and other Latin American countries," said Marco Del Bufalo, 37, a high-school teacher.

A small group of protesters vandalized buildings as a procession snaked through Rome, hurling red paint at banks and vandalizing targets seen as linked to big business. Police reported no arrests.

In Washington, war supporters and antiwar protesters held separate rallies, each attracting thousands.

At the rally supporting the war, demonstrators waved American flags and chanted: "U-S-A U-S-A."

"Our parents died for Vietnamese freedom. Our children are fighting for Iraqi freedom," said P.T. Dao, 53, editor of a Vietnamese newspaper in Falls Church, Va. He was among 200 ethnic Vietnamese on the National Mall.

Protests were also planned in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

"Occupation is not liberation," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, a civil rights lawyer and an organizer of the Washington rally. "Whether they can conquer it militarily is one thing; whether they can turn it into an obedient client state is another."

In Berlin, about 12,000 people gathered for a rally near the Brandenburg Gate, the city's best-known landmark, brandishing banners with slogans such as "Chancellor, close the airspace" to the U.S. military.

In Paris, around 11,000 protesters marched through the city. Smaller anti-war protests were staged in some 50 other French cities and towns.

"We must not forget that this war remains an illegitimate war without the authorization of the United Nations," said Mouloud Aounit, the head of anti-racism group MRAP.

In Dhaka, Bangladesh, nearly 50,000 school children and others gathered to accuse the United States and Britain of committing crimes against humanity in attacking Iraq. Many carried toy guns and tanks symbolizing their vow to fight against coalition forces.

"American and British soldiers may have occupied Iraq, but they have failed to win the hearts of the Iraqi people," Mohammad Selim, 10, said at the protest sponsored by Islamic and leftist parties and anti-war citizens' groups.

Around 4,000 protesters gathered in Seoul, South Korea, to demand the government rescind its decision to send noncombat troops to help U.S.-led forces in Iraq.

In Hong Kong, 100 demonstrators chanted anti-war slogans outside the U.S. consulate. Two veteran activists, Lau San-ching and Leung Kwok-hung, climbed over a gate and unfurled a banner that said "Bush, Blair War Criminals" on the consulate's grounds.

Lau said they trespassed to drive home their claim that Iraq was being illegally occupied. An hour-long standoff ended when consulate security staff carried the two protesters out.

About 2,000 demonstrators in the Norwegian capital Oslo demanded that Washington let the United Nations lead the reconstruction of Iraq. They carried signs that said: "U.S.A. out, U.N. in."

About 1,500 demonstrators gathered in Basel, Switzerland, while a rally in Stockholm, Sweden attracted 500.

"That Saddam Hussein was removed was good, but not the way it was done," said Kurt Junesjoe, a 63-year-old protester in Stockholm.