[Nasional-e] 400,000 join march in Florence against war

[Ambon]

Peaceful protest challenges U.S. policy on Iraq as Washington ponders next
step on road to Baghdad

400,000 join march in Florence against war

Daniel Williams in Florence

About 400,000 protesters from across Europe marched here last weekend
against war on Iraq and plenty of other things as well - globalization, the
cultivation of genetically modified foods, commercial control of the
Internet, copyright laws, Israel's policies on the Palestinians and
liberalization of employee layoff rules.
The march was peaceful, unlike several past anti-globalization rallies
around the world. Organized under the sponsorship of the European Social
Forum, a coalition of "no-global" movements, it attracted the support of
Italy's far-left parties and biggest trade union, which brought in 120,000
demonstrators by bus.
The march was heavy on shrill whistles, communist hymns, red flags and
portraits of "Che" Guevara. None of the marchers shared the Bush
administration's enthusiasm for overthrowing President Saddam Hussein of
Iraq, and held aloft banners proclaiming "Drop Bush, Not Bombs," "Stop
Global War" and "The Real Terrorist is the West."
The U.N. Security Council's adoption last week of a resolution ordering Iraq
to disarm was widely regarded among the protesters as a pretext for a
U.S.-led war. "We no longer have any illusions about institutions like the
United Nations," said Alain Krivine, a French leftist. "All the United
States wants is oil to fuel their big cars," shouted Andrea Morettini, a
student.
The turnout in Florence eclipsed both an anti-war rally held in London this
year and an anti-globalization protest at the Group of Eight summit in Genoa
last year. Violence marred Genoa's march, as protesters tried to storm
summit headquarters and police killed one youth as he tried to attack a
carabinieri jeep with a fire extinguisher.
Last Saturday's march was the climax of four days of meetings. Participants
gathered in the massive Fortezza di Basso, a fortress near the train
station, and other
 sites before joining the march. Organizers' estimates of the crowd far
exceeded the official number.
Preparations for the march had been a source of controversy for weeks. Film
director Franco Zeffirelli, a native of Florence, demanded that the
protesters take their business elsewhere. Another Florentine, Oriana
Fallaci, a celebrated interviewer and writer, called on the city to turn its
back on the protesters, whom she labeled "fascists and nazis."
Florence had braced against possible violence and damage to its Renaissance
monuments. City workers built protective scaffolding around a replica of
Michelangelo's David in Piazza della Signoria and fenced off other
sculptures in a nearby loggia.
 Scores of businesses shuttered their storefronts, banks shielded automated
teller machines, and McDonald's restaurants took down their golden arches.
About 7,000 police were on stand-by.
Demonstrators showed their disdain for those who shut their businesses by
scrawling insulting graffiti on walls and plywood window coverings. "Shame,"
wrote one on a shutter at the Black Molly Bar. "Closed out of ignorance,"
wrote another. Marzio's Beauty Salon on Via Francesco di Sanctis stayed open
in a display of solidarity, according to its owner. Two customers in curlers
applauded the marchers, who responded with samba movements and raised fists.
 Photograph: Marco Di Lauro/
Getty Images

The Guardian Weekly 14-11-2002, page