SUDAN: 500,000 march against war

More than 500,000 people marched through the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, on February 25 in protest at the looming US attack on Iraq, reported Associated Press. Most political parties and professional associations were represented.

Thousands of riot police escorted the marchers as they headed to the United Nations' office in Khartoum where they handed in an open letter to secretary general Kofi Annan. The protesters also called for boycotts of US and Israeli products.

One of the organisers of the demonstration, Fatahi Khalil, the head of the Sudanese Popular Organisation, told Associated Press that the march had brought together "virtually every political party, trade union, and sector".

It was the second mass demonstration against an invasion of Iraq in two months. At the end of January, some 10,000 protesters marched toward the US embassy but were held back by police.

From Green Left Weekly, March 5, 2003.

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From GLW issue 528