WASHINGTON, Jan 19: Anti-war demonstrations continued in Washington on Sunday as well with some protesters gathering outside the White House to protest against the administration’s policies right outside the seat of power.

But both the administration and the protesters were still under the spell of Saturday’s huge rally which, the organizers say, brought half a million people to the US capital.

While refusing to confirm or deny this figure, Washington police chief Charles Ramsey said: “It’s one of the biggest rallies we’ve had, certainly in recent times.” Much larger than the one in October, he added. About 200,000 people had participated in the October rally.

But the numbers do not tell the full story of Saturday’s rally. On a day when the windchill factor was minus 11 degree Celsius, hundreds of thousands spent the entire day on the streets of Washington, some jogging and dancing to fight the cold.

Our San Francisco correspondent adds: About 200,000 peace activists staged a demonstration here on Saturday to protest a possible war against Iraq. This was the second largest anti-war demonstration in America after Washington.

At the City Hall, folk singer Joan Baez led the crowd in a rendition of “Let Us Break Bread Together” and sang several other songs, including one in Arabic that she had a friend translate for her. A Newsweek poll released on Saturday found that Americans, by 60 percent to 35 percent of those polled, want the Bush administration to allow more time to seek an alternative to war.

Agencies add: Weekend anti-war protests in Europe flared again on Sunday against British and US military preparations for a strike on Iraq, ahead of another rally planned in the US capital.

Participation was lower than massive demonstrations staged on Saturday across the world, but thousands more turned out to call for peace in Belgium, Britain, Spain and Turkey.

In northwest London, some 300 protesters returned for a second day to British armed forces headquarters at the Northwood base to protest Prime Minister Tony Blair’s deployment of troops to the Gulf and his backing for a hawkish US position on Iraq.

While police looked on, about a half-dozen activists tied themselves together with chains in a sit-down attempt to block access to the base, while others waved anti-war placards, played music and blew bubbles.

Earlier in the day, about 80 protesters took part in a multi-faith service outside Northwood, which included readings from the Bible, the Holy Quran and Mahatma Gandhi. Chanting Buddhists monks were also on hand.

Turkey, which has balked at giving its US ally full military support in the event of war, saw protests staged in its two major cities — the western metropolis of Istanbul, and the capital Ankara. Police detained 22 anti-war demonstrators in Istanbul, a stronghold of Turkey’s new conservative government.

Ankara, in continuing talks with Washington on the possibility of setting up a northern front against Saddam from Turkey, has also invited the leaders of Syria, Jordan, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to a summit next week to discuss ways to avert war. An overwhelming 87 per cent in Turkey, a NATO ally and Iraq’s neighbour to the west, oppose military action against Iraq, and 62.8 per cent believe Turkey should not get involved in a war if it occurs, either directly or indirectly by offering bases to the United States, a survey found in early January.

Peace activists and rights activists led the rallies, shouting slogans against US “imperialist aims” and waving banners claiming “We are not mercenaries for the US,” Anatolia news agency reported.

In Tulkarm, the West Bank, several thousand demonstrators carrying Iraqi and Palestinian flags marched through two West Bank cities on Sunday to protest against US preparations for a possible military strike on Iraq.

Palestinians have regularly held rallies and marches in support of Saddam in recent weeks.

Iraq has given millions of dollars to families of Palestinians killed during the uprising against Israel.

In Indian-occupied Srinagar, politicians, separatists and militants said Sunday they were against a US-led attack on Iraq.

“As in other parts of the Muslim world there will be strong reaction in Kashmir too if Iraq is attacked,” said Molvi Abbas Ansari, a senior leader of Kashmir’s main separatist alliance, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference.

“Contrary to Afghanistan, the US has no reason to attack Iraq as UN inspectors are doing their job and nothing has been hidden from them,” Ansari said.

Outside the Spanish capital, meanwhile, an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 marchers converged upon the Torrejon military base, calling on the center-right government to “stop the war before it starts”.

Between 5,000 and 6,000 protesters took to the streets in Brussels, according to police estimates. “Bush murderer” and “USA - Nobel War Prize Winner” peppered the cries of the Belgian marchers who were organized by the Stop USA group.

Europeans ranging from left-wing activists to first-time protesters coordinated their weekend rallies with other world cities to show huge popular opposition to US President George W. Bush’s threats to attack Iraq.

Polls throughout Europe show unflinching resistance to the war. In Britain, the main US ally against Iraq, a poll found that 58 per cent of respondents were not convinced Iraq’s alleged weapons of mass destruction represent a global threat, although 53 per cent would approve sending British troops into combat if armed with a UN mandate.

In France, where an estimated 200,000 people turned out on Saturday for 40 anti-war protests, a CSA polling institute survey found 82 per cent of French people oppose a war against Baghdad, while 13 per cent support it. Five per cent did not respond.—AFP