Demonstrators Stage Anti-war Vigils in Britain

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, January 19, 2003

Demonstrators Stage Anti-war Vigils in Britain

British anti-war demonstrators staged candlelit vigils Saturday evening to show their opposition to a looming US-led war on Iraq.

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British anti-war demonstrators staged candlelit vigils Saturday evening to show their opposition to a looming US-led war on Iraq.

Hundreds of anti-war protesters headed for the Parliament Square for a vigil organized by the Bar Human Rights Committee.

Former Labor Member of Parliament Tony Benn, who attended the vigil, told people that any action against Iraq should be approved by the United Nations and get the support of the British People.

The peace vigil planned to be staged in Trafalgar Square could not go ahead because of safety concerns, reports said.

Anti-war vigils also took place in Birmingham and Nottingham.

Earlier in the day, thousands of Britons hold a series of protests across the country as part of a global show of opposition to war with Iraq.

In London, about 200 protesters staged a mass defiance of the Official Secrets Act by taking photographs of the Permanent Joint Headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Northwood, the command post for British rapid deployment forces which would play a key role in the event of an attack on Iraq.

In Liverpool, police said about 2,500 people, including trade unionists, pro-Palestine groups and an Irish marching band, converged on the city center to voice their opposition to war.

Police estimated that more than 2,000 people attended an anti-war protest in Bradford, including the Bishop of Bradford, Right Reverend David James.

The protests came as the United States said Friday that it has become "increasingly clear" that Iraq was not disarming, following the discovery of 12 empty chemical warheads in the country.

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