On 15 February 2003, a coordinated day of protests was held across the world in which people in more than 600 cities expressed opposition to the imminent Iraq War. It was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the invasion, war, and occupation took place. The day was described by social movement researchers as "the largest protest event in human history".
According to BBC News, between six and ten million people took part in protests in up to sixty countries over the weekend of 15 and 16 February.
The largest protests took place in Europe. The one in Rome involved around three million people, and is listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history. Madrid hosted the second largest rally with more than 1.5 million people protesting against the invasion of Iraq. In Beijing, three smaller protests were held the following day, attended by foreigners and domestic students.
Background
In 2002, the United States government began to argue for the necessity of invading Iraq. This formally began with a speech by US President George W. Bush to the United Nations General Assembly on 12 September 2002 which argued that the Iraqi government of Saddam Hussein was violating United Nations (UN) resolutions, primarily on weapons of mass destruction, and that this necessitated action.
The proposed war was controversial with many people questioning the motives of the US government and its rationale. One poll which covered 41 countries claimed that less than 10% would support an invasion of Iraq without UN sanction and that half would not support an invasion under any circumstances.
Anti-war groups worldwide organised public protests. According to the French academic Dominique Reynié, between 3 January and 12 April 2003, 36 million people across the globe took part in almost 3,000 anti‑war protests, the demonstrations on 15 February 2003 being the largest and most prolific.
International coordination
The 15 February international protests were unprecedented not only in terms of the size of the demonstrations but also in terms of the international coordination involved. Researchers from the University of Antwerp claim that the day was possible only because it "was carefully planned by an international network of national social movement organizations."
Immanuel Wallerstein has spoken of the international protests as being organised by the forces of "the camps of Porto Alegre and Davos" in reference to the emergence of global social movements who had been organising around international events such as the 2001 World Social Forum in Porto Alegre.
The idea for an international day of demonstrations was first raised by the British anti-capitalist group Globalise Resistance (GR) in the wake of an anti-war demonstration in Britain of 400,000 on 28 September. At the time GR was involved in planning for the Florence European Social Forum (ESF) and brought up the suggestion at an ESF planning meeting. According to GR's Chris Nineham, "There was considerable controversy. Some delegates were worried it would alienate the mainstream of the movement. We, alongside the Italian delegates, had to put up a strong fight to get it accepted."
The proposal was accepted and at the final rally of the ESF, in November 2002, the call officially went out for Europe-wide demonstrations on 15 February 2003. This call was firmed up in December at a planning meeting for the following ESF which took place in Copenhagen in 2003. This meeting was attended by delegates from many European anti-war organisations, the US group United for Peace and Justice, and representatives of groups from the Philippines. The decision was taken to set up a Europe-wide anti-war website and to commit to spreading organisational coordination both within and beyond Europe. An email network connecting the different national organisations across Europe, and eventually also the different US groups, was set up.
In December 2002, the Cairo Anti-war Conference pledged to organize demonstrations in Egypt and the International Campaign Against Aggression on Iraq (which came out of the Cairo conference) sought to co-ordinate more demonstrations across the world. Around this time, the US anti-war group International ANSWER called for actions in North America supporting the proposed protests in Europe.
Another important platform for the spreading call to demonstrate internationally occurred at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil which took place at the end of 2002. European delegates sought to popularize the plan for the increasingly international demonstration. They met with some success, including the organisation of an anti‑war assembly which was attended by almost 1,000 people.
The song "Boom!", by System of a Down, had a music video filmed on the day of the protest, showing the many protest locations and people's opinions on the Iraq War.
Europe
Demonstrations took place across Europe and some of the largest drawing attendance figures in the tens of thousands in many cities. Approximately one-fifth of the total demonstrators worldwide protested in Europe.
Alpine countries
In Austria, 30,000 people (SW estimate) took to the streets of its capital, Vienna. In Switzerland in order to "concentrate the movement" most activists agreed to organise a single demonstration for the whole country in Bern. On the day roughly 40,000 people joined the protest in front of the Bundeshaus, the seat of the Swiss federal government and parliament. The demonstration, which ran under the slogan Nein zum Krieg gegen Irak – Kein Blut für Öl! (No to war in Iraq – no blood for oil!) was the largest in Switzerland since 1945.
In Slovenia, roughly 3,000 people gathered in Ljubljana's central park of Congress Square, supported by the mayor Danica Simšič, and marched the streets in one of the largest demonstrations since independence in 1991.
Benelux
The Benelux countries had large demonstrations for their total population size. In Belgium organisers had expected around 30,000 people to attend a demonstration in Brussels, which is the home of the European Parliament. They were shocked by a turn out of approximately 100,000 people (WSWS and GLW estimate). The march took over 3 hours to cross the city.
The Netherlands saw around 70,000 (USA Today estimate) to 75,000 people (WSWS estimate) protest in Amsterdam. This was the country's largest demonstration since the anti-nuclear campaigns of the 1980s. Anti war website antiwar.com reports that 8,000-14,000 people were present at protests in Luxembourg, however they do not provide a citation for this figure.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina saw around 100 protesters gather in Mostar. This protest spanned the sectarian divide with both Bosniaks and Croats attending.
Croatia
There were also protests in Croatia where 10,000 people (WSWS estimate) took part in a protest in the capital city of Zagreb. Croatia also saw protests in Osijek, Vukovar, Knin, Zadar, Šibenik, Split and Dubrovnik.
Cyprus
Cyprus saw a demonstration of between 500 (USA Today estimate) and more than 800 people (SW estimate) at the British army base in Dhekelia. Enduring heavy rain protesters briefly blocked the base. They then marched to Pyla village where they watched other demonstrations occurring across the world on a giant screen. The demonstration was mostly attended by Greek Cypriots but they were joined by some Turkish Cypriots.
Czech Republic
In the Czech Republic, over 1,000 people joined a rally at Jan Palach Square in Prague. Czech philosopher Erazim Kohak addressed the crowd, saying, "War is not a solution, war is a problem."
Protesters listened to music and speeches before marching to the Czech government building, where they submitted petitions, then march continued to the US embassy.
France
In France, there were demonstrations in somewhere between twenty (Observer estimate) and eighty cities (WSWS estimate); the organisers estimated that over half a million marched in total. The biggest demonstration took place in Paris, where around 100,000 (USA Today estimate) to 200,000 (WSWS estimate) people marched through the streets, ending in a rally at the Place de la Bastille. This location's role in the French Revolution was considered to give it a historical significance. There was also a demonstration in Toulouse of around 10,000 people.
Germany
In Germany, coaches brought people from over 300 German towns to Berlin to join a demonstration of 300,000 (police estimate) to 500,000 (organizers' estimate) people; the largest demonstration that had occurred in Berlin for several decades. Protesters, including members of Gerhard Schröder's government, filled the boulevard between the Brandenburg Gate and the Victory Column.
ATTAC Germany's spokesperson Malte Kreutzfeld was reported as praising the broadness of the demonstration, saying "The churches and trade unions have linked to make the coalition far broader than even the anti-nuclear missile marches in the 1980s."
Greece
In Athens, Greece, 150,000 people (WSWS estimate) demonstrated. The protest was generally peaceful, but a small group clashed with police. The police fired tear gas at the group some of whom threw rocks and petrol bombs. Police reported that the trouble was down to a group of anarchists who had split off from the main demonstration.
Hungary
There was a demonstration in Budapest, Hungary, of 60,000 people (SW estimate).
Ireland
In Ireland, the Dublin march was only expected to draw 20,000 people, but the actual figure was given variously as 80,000 (police estimate), 90,000 (BBC estimate), 100,000 (Guardian estimate) or 150,000 (Socialist Worker (SW) estimate). The march went from Parnell Square, passing the Department of Foreign Affairs at St. Stephen's Green, and on to the Dame Street for a rally where popular Irish folk singer Christy Moore, Kíla and Labour Party politician Michael D. Higgins were among many speakers from the platform. The march disrupted traffic for more than four hours. Protesters demanded that the Irish government stop allowing the United States military to use Ireland's Shannon Airport as a transatlantic stop-off point in bringing soldiers to the Middle East.
Italy
The biggest demonstration of the global day of protest took place in Italy in Rome. Nearly 3,000 buses and thirty trains were specially chartered to bring people to the demonstration, which was organised under the slogan "Stop the war; no ifs or buts". The organisers were shocked at the size of the turn out and the unexpected number of people forced the demonstration to set off two hours early. 650,000 people (police estimate) took place in a final rally at which there were many international speakers including Kurds, Iraqi dissidents, Palestinians, a representative of the American Council of Christian Churches and an Israeli conscientious objector who addressed the crowd from a stage hung with Pablo Picasso's Guernica. The size of the demonstration meant that the majority of demonstrators did not make it into the final rally and in total three million people (organisers' estimate, supported by the Guinness Book of World Records) were on the streets. This was listed in the 2004 Guinness Book of World Records as the largest anti-war rally in history. According to the Green Left Weekly (GLW), the demonstration contained people from across Italian society; "Catholic nuns and priests marched alongside young people with dreadlocks, nose rings and Palestinian scarves. Christians, anarchists and communists mingled".
Malta
Approximately 1,000 demonstrated (SW estimate) in Malta. The weather was cold and rainy. After the demonstration an anti-war concert was held in the capital, Valletta.
Nordic countries
Norway saw its biggest series of protests since 1917. The biggest took place in its capital Oslo were more than 60,000 protesters (Police estimate and Socialist Worker estimate) joining a demonstration. Protests of around 15,000 took place in Bergen and Trondheim, and 10,000 in Stavanger. Small protests also took place in at least 30 towns across the country. At the rally in Oslo the vice-chair of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) spoke from the platform claiming that "Bush only cares about American oil interests".
In Denmark 20,000 to 30,000 protesters (WSWS estimate) took part in a march in the capital city, Copenhagen.
In Sweden, 35,000 demonstrated in Stockholm. and about 25,000 in Gothenburg. In Helsinki, Finland, an estimated 15,000 people participated in one of the largest mass-protests in the republic's history.
Poland
There was a demonstration in Warsaw, Poland of 10,000 people (SW estimate). The demonstration through central Warsaw passed the US embassy. Another protest, organized by the local Wrocław Anti-War Coalition (WKA), was held in the city of Wrocław in the market square by the town hall, with 400–500 people participating.