September 17, 2007	Monday	Ramazan 04, 1428

WASHINGTON, Sept 16: Up to 200 people have been arrested in Washington this weekend during a huge anti-war demonstration outside the White House.

Tens of thousands gathered on the streets of the US capital to demand an end to the Iraq war and called for President Bush to step down.

The march concluded with a dramatic “die-in” of 5,000 people surrounding Capitol Hill, with a mock 21-gun salute. Almost 200 people were arrested when police prevented them taking an anti-war message to Congress.

People marched shoulder-to-shoulder on eight-lane-wide Pennsylvania Avenue, with the densely packed march stretching more than 10 blocks. The protest followed President Bush’s pledge on Friday to withdraw 22,000 troops from Iraq by next July. For many in the anti-war rally this was not enough.

“What do we want? Our troops back. When do we want it? Now,” the crowds chanted, as some of them risked arrest by performing acts of civil disobedience.

Opinion polls show that as many as 66 per cent Americans are against keeping US troops in Iraq and blame President Bush for leading their country to a war that they believe was not necessary.

“We are losing our democracy to corporate interests and we are losing our fundamental rights,” said one of the protesters in a TV interview. Many anti-war activists blame the Bush administration – particularly Vice President Dick Cheney – for causing the war for the benefits of the big business. They claim that oil companies — profiting from an unprecedented rise in international oil prices — and arms manufacturers have benefited hugely from this war.

This was the first major anti-war demonstration in Washington since January. Capital police resorted to pepper spray to keep some protesters at bay. With the crowd chanting Money for jobs and education, not for war and occupation, Fred Mason, one of the organisers, also blamed the opposition Democrats for not showing “the guts and backbone” to end this war. Holding black and yellow signs reading “End the War,” protesters started to gathered at a park near on the north side of the White House. At least two dozen speakers — ranging from former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark and a two-time presidential candidate Ralph Nader to Washington Wizards player Etan Thomas – addressed the crowd before the march.

Police said dozens of protesters had been arrested without incident after they climbed over a waist-high metal fence erected at the base of the Capitol.

Cheered on by the crowd, more demonstrators were leaping over the fence every few minutes in the late afternoon and were being taken into custody. Like the last major anti-war protest in January, when tens of thousands marched to the National Mall, this weekend’s event came at a tense time in the fractious debate over the US mission in Iraq.

The protest was organised by the Answer Coalition, which stands for Act Now to Stop War and End Racism. The organiser estimated that 100,000 people attended the protest.

It is followed by a week of “civil disobedience” in Washington intended to push the anti-war movement into a more confrontational phase, according to organizers. Throughout the weekend, President Bush was at Camp David, Maryland, and not at home to hear the protests.