Below are two articles describing protests around the world against the war in Syria. The first by Russia Today, the second by Associated Press.
‘We say no war’: Protesters across the world rally against military strike on Syria
RT, September 8, 2013
Protests were held across the globe on Saturday to demonstrate against a US-led strike on Syria, as world leaders ask Washington to wait for the results of a UN report before taking military action.
Around 200 people gathered outside the White House in Washington on Saturday to voice their opposition to a military strike on Syria and demand that Congress vote “no” on the issue.
Demonstrators chanted, “They say more war; we say no war” and carried signs reading that war on Syria would be “Built on a Lie.”
“There is a grass-roots uprising against the Democrats and the Republicans,” founder of the anti-war group Code Pink, Medea Benjamin, told AP. “We do not want another war,” she said, pointing to a broad anti-war feeling in the US.
Activists also came out in New York, carrying signs saying, “No more wars for corporate profit” and “Cut the Pentagon, not food stamps.”
Another 150 people gathered in Indianapolis while other protests were reported across Louisiana and Michigan.
In Canada, a rally was held across the street from the US consulate in Toronto. People gathered to demonstrate against intensified US efforts to garner support for a military strike on Syria.
The organizer of the protest, Sid Lacombe, said that people should not believe US claims that Assad’s government launched the August 21 chemical attack in a Damascus suburb.
“We are not going to support the United States government as it launches yet another incredibly brutal, immoral and illegal war based on lies,” Lacombe told The Canadian Press.
Demonstrations were also held in front of the US embassy in Ottawa, Canada.
Three-hundred people rallied outside the US embassy in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, where protests entered their second day.
Activists also gathered in the Philippines and Pakistan to voice their opposition to a military strike on Syria.
Also on Saturday, Pope Francis held a five-hour prayer vigil in Vatican City for peace in Syria, asking world leaders to remove their nations from a “spiral of sorrow and death.” He reminded that “violence and war lead only to death.”
Syrian opposition speaks out against military strike
Rebel groups have voiced their opposition against a possible US-led strike on Syria, arguing that it would only serve American interests.
The Syrian Islamic Front posted a message on its Facebook page cautioning its followers against supporting a strike. The group stated that military intervention would only benefit Washington – not Syrians who are seeking to topple Assad.
Another group condemned the idea of a strike in a YouTube video, saying that “we reject Western military intervention in Syria and consider it a new aggression against Muslims.”
The statements underline the rift within the Syrian opposition and go against the mainstream thinking of the Free Syrian Army.
Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama has been speaking to world leaders in an attempt to garner support for a military strike on Syria. He has also been seeking congressional approval.
The US says the Syrian government unleashed a gas attack on a Damascus suburb last month, killing over 1,400 civilians. The White House, which previously designated chemical warfare as a “red line,” is calling for “limited” action against the Assad regime – likely a series of air strikes.
On Saturday the US Senate Intelligence Committee released a compilation of 13 videos presented to the committee as proof of the alleged chemical attack in a Damascus suburb on August 21.
In its latest remarks, the EU said the Syrian government was the likely perpetrator of the Damascus chemical attack, but that it will not be rushed into any military action before an official UN report is released.
Over the past fortnight, France and the UK have led calls for military response. Italy and Spain have assumed a waiting position, while Germany has proceeded with caution.
Protesters Rally Against Syria Strike In D.C., NYC
Associated Press, September 8, 2013
WASHINGTON — Dozens of people opposed to President Barack Obama’s call for a U.S. military strike against Syria are picketed outside the White House on Saturday.
Chanting “They say more war; we say no war,” speakers said the picket line marks a line Congress should not cross as it prepares to vote on the issue.
Many lawmakers in both parties oppose Obama’s request for Congress to authorize using military force against Syria in retaliation for a chemical gas attack last month that the Obama administration blames on President Bashar Assad.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved a measure earlier this week that would authorize a strike. The first votes by the full Senate could come Wednesday.
Obama left the White House during the protest, traveling by car to Andrews Air Force Base to play golf with three aides.
In New York City, a small crowd of protesters gathered in New York City’s Times Square to condemn possible U.S. military action in Syria.
The gathering included anti-war activists, anti-Wall Street activists, and also some Syrian expatriates who said they supported the Assad government.
Some people carried signs saying, “No more wars for corporate profit,” and “Cut the Pentagon, not food stamps.”
Police barricaded off several areas to allow the protesters to gather without disrupting the flow of tens of thousands of tourists through the square.