Half a million march in Rome

Some 500,000 protesters marched through intermittent rain and wind in Rome Feb. 19 calling for an end to the war against Iraq and the occupation. The demonstrators also called for the freeing of Giuliana Sgrena, a journalist for the independent pro-communist daily "Il Manifesto," and other hostages. Sgrena is a long-time leader of the feminist and anti-war movements in Italy. The others include journalist Florence Aubenas for the French paper "Libération" and her interpreter, Hussein Al Saadi.

Leading the march were two enormous banners reading "Let's liberate peace" and "Liberate Giuliana, Florence and Hussein." Sgrena's elderly parents, Franco Sgrena and Antonietta Sgrena, and her lifelong companion Pier Scolari, headed the march. Giuliana's father is an ex-partisan in the war against Nazi-fascism and a retired railroad worker.

Throughout the march, rainbow-colored peace flags mixed with the red flags of the CGIL and COBAS trade unions, the Leftist Students, the Communist Refoundation Party, the Left Democrats and the Italian Communists, as well as the flags of the Green Party and many Iraqi and Palestinian flags.

Most demonstrators marched spontaneously in small groups and not in organized contingents. Many held home-made signs calling for the release of Giuliana and all the hostages. They called for an end to the criminal occupation of Iraq and the immediate withdrawal of all Italian and other Western troops. Other demonstrators carried blow-ups of photos taken by Sgrena during her reporting in Iraq over the last two years of the countless civilian victims of the U.S. war, including the many young children who are victims of U.S. cluster bombs.

A contingent of U.S. Citizens Against War from Florence and Rome marched behind a large banner reading "Not in our name" and was applauded all along the march route. For the last part the U.S. contingent marched behind a banner of "Jews against the Israeli occupation," which was also very well received by the crowd.

The demonstration ended in the rain at the Circus Maximus, where speakers alternated with performances by Iraqi, other Arabic and Italian musicians. On the steep hillside above, demonstrators had written in huge letters formed with candles the words "Iraq Libero"--Free Iraq--with the last letter formed by a giant peace sign.

Based on a report by John Gilbert, U.S. Citizens Against War, Florence, Italy.