Cablegate: Istanbul Anti-War Protest

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 002101

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: Istanbul Anti-War Protest

1. (U) Around 5,000 people in Istanbul protested against a
possible U.S.-led operation against Iraq on Sunday. The
anti-war demonstration was organized with the participation
of more than 170 NGOs, including the country's three big
unions: Turk-Is (the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions),
the Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions (DISK) and
the Confederation of Public Sector Labor Unions (KESK).
Other participating organizations included the Chamber of
Engineers and Architects, the Union of Turkish Doctors,
Greenpeace, some political parties and several Islamist
groups.

2. (U) The protest started around 11.00 a.m. in Abide-I
Hurriyet Square in Istanbul's downtown Sisli District under
tight police control. During the meeting, the union leaders
made speeches and the crowd chanted anti-US and anti-war
slogans including "No to Imperialist War," and "We Will Not
Be American Soldiers." The speakers included a British
Member of Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn from the Labor Party.
The crowd dispersed after a few hours and there was no
violence during the demonstration.

3. (SBU) Comment: Police contacts confirmed to us that 5,000
people participated in the demonstration, but noted that
they had anticipated a crowd twice that size. End comment.
ARNETT

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