Ten thousand people participate in peace demonstrate in Rome

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Sunday, March 21, 2004

Ten thousand people participate in peace demonstrate in Rome

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Tens of thousands of people from allover Italy took part in a peace demonstration in Rome on Sunday afternoon, calling for the withdrawal of Italian troops from Iraq on the anniversary of the start of the US-led war there.

A huge parade through Rome's streets led by leftist parties, anti-capitalist groups and peace movements culminated in a rally where political leaders spoke.

The organizers said about one million people participated in the demonstration. But Italian police estimated some half that number attended.

Most of the participants urged Italian troops should be withdrew from Iraq, they also called for peace and voiced opposition to the war and terrorism.

The leader of the Party of Italian Communists, Oliviero Diliberto, said that Italian troops should be pulled out of Iraq because "their presence there only serves to fuel terrorism."

The Italian Communist Refoundation leader Fausto Bertinotti said the demonstration was a protest "against war and terrorism."

The spokesman for the center-left opposition, Francesco Rutelli,didn't attend the Rome demonstration, but he said in Turin: "What counts today is that we are all against war."

The Rome demonstration was also joined by representatives of the internal union of the Carabinieri, the Italian paramilitary police force which lost 12 members in a suicide bomb attack in southern Iraq Nassiriya in November.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has condemned Sunday demonstration, and he has pledged to "stay the course" in Iraq. ��

Source: Xinhua

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