Thousands of Britons are to stage anti-Iraq-war demonstration, which will be the first major protest since the end of war, in London on Saturday, the organizers announced.
The two organizers, the Stop the War Coalition and the Muslim Association of Britain, also said they are planning to summon more demonstrations when US President George W. Bush visits the British capital in November.
"We are thinking between 80,000 to 100,000 will be there which would be a substantial demonstration, especially given we are not actually at war or immediately preparing for war," said Andrew Burgin with the Stop the War Coalition.
Local media expected London Mayor Ken Livingstone, veteran anti-war lawmaker George Galloway, as well as film director Ken Locah will attend the rally.
The latest poll showed that a clear majority of Britons for the first time don't believe the Iraq war was justified, as a result from the continuing fierce debate over Iraq.
The monthly ICM poll issued last week shows that British public opinion on Iraq has moved sharply over the summer in the face of the Hutton inquiry into the death of arms expert David Kelly, the failure to find weapons of mass destruction and the continuing instability in Baghdad.
Fifty-three percent of the British voters are saying the war was unjustified, while only 38 percent still believe it was right to invade Iraq, the poll shows.
(Xinhua News Agency September 27, 2003)
