ATHENS - Thousands of demonstrators marched in Athens against the US-led occupation of Iraq on Saturday in a protest marking the second anniversary of the war to topple Saddam Hussein's regime.
Organised by the General Confederation of Workers (GSEE), the Federation of Greek Civil Servants (ADEDY) and the Athens Labour Centre (EKA), the protest attracted some 5,000 workers, students and leftists, an organiser told AFP.
The police placed the number of demonstrators at 2,000.
Gathering at Athens' central Syntagma Square, where a rock concert was held prior to the march, the demonstrators were addressed by Sue Niederer, the mother of an American soldier killed in Iraq.
Niederer called for the withdrawal of all US troops from the violence-torn country.
The demonstrators marched on the American embassy, chanting slogans against US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"Bush, the number one terrorist," read a leaflet passed out to marchers.
"Hands off Syria and Iran," read another banner.
A third banner ruled out Greek participation in Anglo-US efforts to pacify Iraq.
"We're not going to the slaughterhouse, send (Prime Minister Kostas) Karamanlis instead," it read.
"When the temperature hits 40 degrees (Celsius) in Baghdad, the Americans will start dropping like flies," the marchers chanted.
A small complement of Greenpeace activists participated in the protest, leaving a mock tableau of dead body outlines on the asphalt facing the American embassy gate. The demonstrators dispersed around 3:00 pm (1300 GMT) without incident.
A similar protest was held in the northern port of Salonika, Greece's second city, where several hundred demonstrators marched on the British and US consulates before dispersing without incidents.
03/19/2005 13:59 GMT