SEVERAL thousand supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez have marched to the US Embassy to protest the Iraq war and Washington's foreign policy. Accompanied by fireworks, samba drums and whistles, the protesters, mostly women and many dressed in red T-shirts, crowded onto a street outside the embassy compound in Caracas, where a small cordon of National Guard soldiers stood watching.
Marking International Women's Day, the marchers carried placards that read "No to War" and referred to leading US anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who was arrested on Tuesday during a protest outside the United Nations in New York. "As a woman and a mother I am against the war. War shouldn't be for economic gain," said Gloria Reyes, who wore a T-shirt with an image of Mr Chavez and who carried a poster branding US President George W. Bush the world's most dangerous man. Mr Chavez has clashed with the US government because of his message of socialist revolution and the former soldier's ties to Iran and Cuba.
"We want them to realise the mistake they are making," said state television worker Yeyinol Sifontes, a mother of three who joined the march to the embassy. "I wouldn't want my children to go to battle just for some economic benefits."
Protesters handed over a National Assembly document against the war to a US Embassy representative. Pro-Chavez lawmakers said they have collected more than two million signatures against the war since beginning a campaign in January.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,18399943%255E1702,00.html
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
