Unions join millions around the world
in protest against war

Jim Selby, AFL Staff

Massive protests against the looming American invasion of Iraq rocked governments around the world on February 15, 2003. Millions of people poured into the streets of the world’s major cities in an unprecedented expression of international opposition to war.

In Alberta, over 10,000 people marched in Edmonton, 5000 demonstrated in Calgary and hundreds more Albertans participated in events in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Grande Prairie and other centres.

"The turnout in Alberta ought to send a very clear message to the Prime Minster," said Alberta Federation of Labour President Les Steel. "This march was called at very short notice and relied on the Internet and word-of-mouth to get people out. If labour and other organizations had more time to organize, we could have easily doubled the numbers."

Huge turnouts in other major cities like Toronto (75,000), Montreal (150,000) and Vancouver (40,000) made it clear that regardless of the position of the Canadian government, the people of Canada are absolutely opposed to American President George Bush’s war. All told, nearly 400,000 Canadians demonstrated.

The Canadian protests, like those in the rest of the world, demonstrated a growing popular consensus against war – as the young and old, workers and shopkeepers, students and organized labour, church groups and social justice advocates came together in common cause.

Andrea Waywanko, a labour and social activist, put things in perspective when she addressed the rally in Edmonton. "The way our so-called leaders are acting is not in our interest," she said. "War is not good for workers, for the environment, for children and for our future. Workers of one nation are pitted against those of others, while their so-called leaders call the shots from a safe distance and drum up nationalistic fervor to distract citizens from the failures and corruption of our economic system." 

In Grande Prairie, CUPE activist Josy Burroughs focused attention on the real consequences to the people of Iraq of the American plans. "Workers in Iraq have a threat and uncertainty whether they will continue to work, whether their families will even be alive in the months to come. They live under the umbrella of impending war, of sanctions and lack of basic necessities imposed upon them since the Gulf War twelve years ago."

The signs and placards graphically detailed the broad nature of the burgeoning peace movement. "No blood for oil" and "Give peace a chance" signs were everywhere, as were messages like "Drop Sanctions – Not Bombs" amid the chilling chant: "Bush, Bush, we know you – your daddy was a killer, too."

"The mobilization against the war is bringing together an incredibly broad spectrum of people around the world," said Les Steel. "There are bridges being built today between many different movements and social groups and organizations that will become a force to be reckoned with in our society. This may be the beginning of an effective and powerful global citizens’ coalition."

World-wide protest

The first major protest actually began the day before, on Friday, February 14th in Melbourne, Australia where 200,000 Australians brought the city to a standstill. The next day, a wave of protest passed around the globe. Marches took place across the Pacific rim and Asia in New Zealand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, East Timor, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Taipei, Kazakhstan and Singapore.

Citizens marched in the Middle East and Africa. There were 200,000 in Damascus alone and thousands more in Cape Town and Johannesburg and Tel Aviv. In South America, there were 15 major demonstrations in Brazil alone.

But the largest demonstrations of the day took place in Europe. Rome led the way with an estimated 3,000,000 people forming a human chain around the Vatican. One million marched in London, 1,300,000 in Barcelona, 1,000,000 in Madrid, 350,000 in Berlin, and 400,000 in Paris. There were other marches in Kiev, Amsterdam, Budapest, Warsaw, Athens, Copenhagen, Dublin, Brussels, and most other European cities.

In New York, an estimated 500,000 Americans took to the streets to protest their government’s actions.

Although any accurate calculation of the actual numbers involved is never likely to be reached, there is no question that there has never in history been a greater demonstration of common purpose and solidarity amongst the citizens of the world. What the political leaders of the world’s nations will make of it remains to be seen.

"George Bush and Tony Blair and their little cadre of war-mongers may not have realized it yet, but the world is changing around them," noted Steel.