KOLKATA, Nov 16: Some 100,000 Communist Party members took to the streets of Kolkata on Thursday protesting the death sentence handed to former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein.

The protesters called Hussein's trial a farce and condemned President George Bush and US policies in the Middle East.

Addressing the rally, Biman Bose, a party leader, accused the US of repeatedly violating the sovereignty of developing nations.

Protesters held posters reading `Down with George Bush’' and `Bush is the greatest enemy to humanity’. Kolkata's police control room estimated the crowd at 100,000 people.

The West Bengal state, of which Kolkata is the capital, is a Communist Party stronghold in India. They have repeatedly protested against India's ties with the US that have grown closer in recent years.—AP