Protests against the invasion of Afghanistan

In 2001, a number of small protests against the invasion of Afghanistan occurred in various cities and college campuses across the United States and other countries in the first days after the start of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. These protests were mainly peaceful, but larger protests and general strikes occurred in Pakistan. Some of these were suppressed by police with casualties among the protesters. In both Islamic and non-Islamic nations, protests and rallies of various sizes against the attack on Afghanistan took place.

Many protesters felt that the invasion of Afghanistan was unjustified aggression and would lead to the deaths of many innocent people by preventing humanitarian aid workers from bringing food into the country.

September 29, 2001

On September 29 activists demonstrated in Washington, DC, denouncing the impending invasion of Afghanistan. The protests were organized by the recently formed A.N.S.W.E.R. coalition; estimates of the total number of protesters range from 3,000 to 25,000. Thousands gathered at Meridian Hill Park (Malcolm X Park) and marched downtown, while elsewhere members of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence clashed briefly with police on their way to Edward R. Murrow park, across from the headquarters of the World Bank and the IMF. Both groups of marchers converged on a rally at the Freedom Plaza.

October 7, 2001

On October 7, there was a peace rally of ten to twelve thousandFact|date=June 2007 people in New York City. The group marched from Union Square to Times Square, cheering the police at the beginning of the march. The list of about twelve speakers was cut to three or four by the police, and they were herded at the end into a one-lane-wide "bullpen".

November 18, 2001

On November 18, 2001 the Stop the War Coalition (StWC) organized an anti-war demonstration. This was the coalition's first national demonstration in London under the slogan "Not in my name". The organizers claimed that 100,000 people took part. This included a large number of British Muslims. As the demonstration fell during Ramadan, StWC organized an element of prayer in the final rally to allow pious Muslims to observe their faith. Headlining speakers included human rights campaigner Bianca Jagger, left-wing Labour Party veteran Tony Benn, then Labour MP George Galloway, and speakers from the Muslim community. At the time the protest was the largest peace demonstration for more than fifteen years.

October 28, 2006

On October 28, 2006, a few peace groups in Canada organised rallies in 40 cities and towns. Themes of the demonstrations included demands that the troops be brought home from Afghanistan and demands that the mission of the Canadian Forces in that country shift from a combat role to a peace keeping and humanitarian presence.

Participation varied from city to city, with some demonstrations attracting a handful of people, and others attracting several hundred [http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Canada/2006/10/28/2155711-cp.html ] .

References

* "Stop the War: the story of Britain's biggest mass movement", Andrew Murray and Lindsey German, ISBN 1-905192-00-2
* [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,597160,00.html Another coalition stands up to be counted] , John Vidal, Monday November 19, 2001, The Guardian
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/1648479.stm Protesters demand end to bombing] BBC