Hundreds of thousands of people rallied in Washington DC on Saturday, January 18 to say no to war with Iraq. Speakers at the event evoked the memory of Martin Luther King in calling for a world without violence, and for a country that seeks to end hunger among all children rather than terrozing those whom the Bush administration opposes. Speakers also said that Bush was killing the American way of life in this war for oil. The event in DC was organized by the International ANSWER coaltion.

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[ Washington DC IMC | International ANSWER ]

Later in the afternoon, one thousand people joined a radical anti-capitalist breakaway march and militantly marched through the financial center smashing windows and graffitting the San Francisco Chronicle building, the British Consulate, CitiCorp, the Immigration & Naturalization Service building [ 1 | video 1 | 2 ], Starbucks and Victoria's Secret [ 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | audio ]. There were two confirmed arrests.

Further coverage: chronology of events | overhead photos | sounds of the street

[ San Francisco Bay Area IMC | SF Bay IMC Antiwar Coverage ]

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[ Portland IMC | Portland IMC Stop War Info | Portland Peaceful Response Coalition ]

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[ Germany IMC | Ireland IMC | Italy IMC ]

Read: entire feature and add links to further reports | Winning Hearts and Minds for Peace in the Heartland

[ United for Peace | Be Counted for Peace ]

On Saturday, January 18, 2003, tens of thousands of people joined marches, demonstrations, rallies and events in the deep chill of winter across Canada to protest the looming war on Iraq. Events were held in over 30 communities across the country, big and small, from Yellowknife to Fredericton. The larger demonstrations across the country included 15-20,000 persons in Toronto, 20,000 in Vancouver, 25,000 in Montreal, 15,000 in Halifax, and 3000 in Ottawa, with smaller demonstrations in many other places. Canadians called on their government to end its support of US plans for war.

Read: entire feature | Non-proliferation de la guerre - CMAQ | August 21, 2002 feature

[ Ontario IMC Peace Coverage | Canadian Peace Alliance - L'Alliance canadiene pour la paix ]

The AntiWar Committee in Leiden, jointly with local Moroccan organization Moultaqa, held its Dr. Martin Luther King memory march against the plans for war against Irak, against racism, and for civil rights. Another action was held in Rotterdam. The Leiden demonstration included a call to support an all Europe day of action for peace for the people of Irak on Saturday, 15 February, with demonstrations in all capitals of European countries, including Amsterdam.

[ Netherlands IMC | dDH Vredessite | Wereldcrisis.nl ]

Beginning with a music concert, the event included a peaceful march through the Ginza district before returning to Hibiya Park for more music, dance, and speeches by various national and international organisations. The closing ceremony was a surge of emotion as the Daiko drummers beat to the rallying crowd shouting "World Peace Now!"

[ WorldPeaceNow.jp | Ze Global Party 4 Pe@ce ]

In London, anti-war campaigners protested and conducted civil disobedience at the Permanent Joint Headquarters of the British Armed Forces at Northwood, the command post for British rapid deployment forces.

Over 150 activists took photos [ 1 ] of the base where the British military is planning war on Iraq, an action which is forbidden under the OSA, in an action titled Operation Internal Look. Nevertheless dozens of press journalists joined the activists, some of whom carried giant binoculars, cameras and telescopes in capturing images of the highly sensitive base, which is not even marked on street maps. A blockade of the base is planned in the coming days.

Read: entire feature | January 17 feature

[ United Kindom IMC | SchNEWS | Stop the War Coalition ]

On Thursday, 16 January, Peace Action Wellington organised a twelve hour vigil at the US Embassy in Wellington to mark the twelfth anniversary of the start of the Gulf War. This was followed by a rally at the Cenotaph and a march to the US Embassy. About 200 people with banners, flags, and placards marched to the embassy, where red ribbons, flowers, and a US flag soaked in halal blood were tied to the railings.The protest was one of many being held this week throughout the country, co-ordinated by Peace Movement Aotearoa. The last round of anti-war actions in New Zealand were on December 14.

[ Aotearoa IMC | Peace Movement Aotearoa ]