Europa

Cae la estatua... pero esta vez en la Plaza Trafalgar

Autor: Jamie Wilson y Matthew Taylor

Fecha: 21/11/2003

Traductor: Celeste Murillo, especial para P.I.

Fuente: The Guardian

Mass turnout of young and old watches overturn of US president's effigy

At first George Bush gently rocked, then he began to sway, before finally the figure started toppling, slowly but inexorably on to the pavement below.
The symbolic end of the five-metre (17ft) tall effigy - a riposte to the pulling down of the statue of Saddam Hussein in Baghdad - brought the biggest cheer of the day: louder than the boos when the seemingly never ending procession made its way past Downing Street; bigger even than the shouts and whistles that rang out when Britain's sixth anti-war demonstration in a year began its snaking path through London to Trafalgar Square.
Yesterday was by far the biggest turnout since the million-plus march in February; along with the crowds, the anger and conviction were back with a vengeance.
The hope of making a difference on that February day, before war had begun, was superseded by a sense of frustration on subsequent marches.
Yesterday the demonstrators had a target, something tangible to shout at, even if he was hidden behind an impenetrable wall of security.
By mid-morning people were coming together in Bloomsbury for the start of the march, everyone from schoolchildren playing truant to pensioners carrying placards reading "Go Home" and "World's Number 1 Terrorist".
Young and old, doctors, and teachers, students and the unemployed, representing every religion and every colour. They had come on foot and on bikes, by train and in cars.
Twenty coaches made their way down the M6 from Manchester, while at least four more came from Exeter. All were assembling to make up the diverse mix that in two years has seen the Stop the War Coalition become the fastest growing political movement in Britain.
By 2.45pm, with Bloomsbury a seething mass of whistles and chanting, the march was led off by a disabled Vietnam veteran-turned peace protester, Ron Kovic, behind the banner "Proud of My Country, Ashamed of my President".
The Stop the War Coalition, the Muslim Association of Great Britain and CND had predicted that more than 100,000 people would turn out to protest at the state visit of the president of the United States.
Yesterday the organisations claimed that more than 200,000 took part, and it was difficult to argue that they were wrong. Scotland Yard, however, gave an estimate of 70,000.
As the procession made its way down Holborn and over Waterloo bridge, the road was filled with banners and flags as far as the eye could see.
More than 5,000 police officers, standing out in their Day-Glo yellow coats, mingled with the protesters and lined the route as the march snaked its way past Westminster.
The next stop, Whitehall, was guarded like Fort Knox. But it did not matter to the marchers, and especially not to the organisers, who had negotiated hard with the authorities to be able to march past the seat of government.
As the march swung past Number 10 there was a cacophony of whistles, boos, jeers and insults. But it was as close as the protesters got to Tony Blair or Mr Bush.
A little further on, at the Foreign Office, hours earlier the prime minister and the president had held a joint press conference - but by the time of the march the president was safely ensconced back in Buckingham Palace.
When the front of the march arrived in Trafalgar Square there seemed to be several thousand protesters waiting to greet them. And, as the speeches started, the organisers claimed that the tail of the march was only just leaving the starting point in Malet Street.
"This is probably one of the largest demonstrations that London has ever seen on a weekday, it is massive," said Lindsay German, convener of the Stop the War Coalition.
The marchers were still arriving as two men in white boiler suits hung ropes around the neck of the effigy of the president and Mr Kovic led the countdown that ended with the toppling of the statue.
The £5m security operation surround ing the president had done its job of keeping him out of sight and sound of the protesters, and it had an added edge after yesterday's bombings in Istanbul.
"Everyone involved should remember terrorists are no respecters of anyone else," warned Scotland Yard's deputy assistant commissioner Andy Trotter. "They would think nothing about launching an attack which injured demonstrators and innocent bystanders.".
But Ms German said that the attacks in Istanbul were an inevitable consequence of the war. "I hate to say we told you so, but we have been saying from the beginning that the war with Iraq would inevitably lead to more terrorist attacks.
"If it does turn out to be al-Qaida, I don't think it can be any coincidence that these attacks have come against British targets on the day that George Bush is visiting London."