Thousands are expected to descend on the centre of the capital, prompting police to say they could not guarantee public safety because official permission had not been sought.

Organisers have now reached an informal agreement with senior officers on the route the protest will take.

We asked for your views on whether or not protests work, whether or not you felt politicians were listening and if you were concerned about public safety.

Here are your views.

I am always amazed to read comments which begin "I was opposed to the war but now that we are at war ..." So what? Is the war wrong or not. If it is wrong then we are simply "supporting our boys" into committing acts of inhumanity at best, and possibly war crimes! What's more - their lives are being put at risk for what? The first (and only) thing to be captured was oilfields! Just like we predicted!

Is it democratic to demonstrate - damn right it is - when presidents and prime ministers can go to war against the express wish of the majority of the people, against the express wish of the body they set up to police themselves (UN) and in violation of international law. Compared with this sitting down in a Scottish street seems like small beer!
Norma Anderson, Elgin

For those that have remarked that we would be punished if we protested in Iraq please consider that if we are refused the right protest when our government does something that we disagree with then we will be entering in to the realms of living in a dictartorship when the police tell us we cannot march that is the beginning of the end of democracy, what will the excuse be next week? This war protest has evolved into more than just saving innocent lives, it is about whether or not we have a right to free speech in a supposedly democratic country.

Our government is demonising anti-war campaigners. Read this quote and then give it consideration, you may not agree with us, but one day it might be your turn to need someone to speak up for you, who will have the right then to protest?

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up, because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for the Catholics,
and I didn't speak up, because I was a Protestant.

Then they came for me, and by that time there was no one left to speak up for me.
Rev. Martin Niemoller, 1945
John Taggart, Cumbernauld, Scotland

This is one of those bizarre situations where a vocal minority (those opposed to war) make their views known, but the silent majority have no real way to vocalise their own views. In this case the government is following the view of the majority. People have the right to present their opinion, but surely they have made it fairly clear. I suspect the interest groups in the UK are motivated by wider political goals. The time now seems right to support our soldiers in the conflict. My greatest concern is the media coverage, which appears to be one-sided, as it is clearly difficult to produce interesting articles on the silence of the majority!
James Platt, Toronto, Canada (but British)

Saddam is an evil man, whose regime has caused thousands of deaths among hos own population as well as many others - Iran and Kuwait for a start. If the international community had more courage in 1991 we would not be fighting this war now. How many of the peace protesters demo'd over the invasion of Kuwait, or the slaughter of the Kurds? Damn few I'll bet.
Steve, Durham, UK

Do these people not appreciate the anguish they put the families of our brave armed forces through every time they step out on to the streets for their sad little parades? They should be ashamed of themselves.
Billy, Cowdenbeath

I asked a demonstrator what he was demonstrating for in Dundee and he said he thought it was fun to cause a riot, this is why the government tends not to listen to the public. Attitudes like that don't help at all. I am all for this war and the sooner we get rid of Saddam the sooner we can have all our troops home to their families. Go get him guys!
neil, Edinburgh

The best support that can be given to our forces in Iraq is to get them home as quickly as possible. The best way to get them home quickly is to end the war. It is wrong to assume that those protesters on Saturday are not supporting the forces, they are just not supporting the war.
Peter, Livingston, Scotland

I would just like to say that I marched against Saddam Hussein in the 1980s and I have stood and handed leaflets out about him as well. Nevertheless I will be protesting against the war on Saturday as it is NOT a war on Saddam and it is not a war for freedom - it is an illegal attack on the independence and the sovereignty of Iraq.
Mhairi, Glasgow

Get off your sofas and demonstrate. This war is illegal. And well done to all the Scots that have been demonstrating so well even without reporting from the national press. "A time has come when silence is betrayal. That time is now": Martin Luther King Jr.
M Jones, Oxfordshire (ex-Aberdeen)

NOT IN MY NAME
You can kill, you can maim
You can torture, you can blame
You can play at your war games until you die
You can say that it's all right
And we can all give up in fright
But what you've done is still
Not in my name.

This is the final verse of a song I wrote recently, inspired by the protest banners and a story on the BBC website asking where have all the protest songs gone? It works in my head, and I really need a tune, but in case these lyrics help anyone to express whay they think and feel, here they are.
Bernadette Cahill, Jackson, MS, US (Scottish expat)

Saddam Hussein is off his trolly and has to be stopped. He has brutally killed his own people in the past. Good luck and all the best to our troops in the gulf.
Jan Gacek, Glasgow

How can people say they are protesting for peace and the best interests of the Iraqi people? This man has been slaughtering them, his defiance to the UN has led to sanctions which is starving his people. He uses them as human shields, he bombs them with nepalm and chemical weapons. And you dont want his dictatorship destroyed? He won't even let his people flee the cities to safety for the duration of the war?

If the picture of the injured people on the TV make you feel uncomfortable - have a look at the pictures of dead Kurds in the streets, toddlers and babies and old people included. He did that deliberately, any civilian casualties of this war are accidental and wouldn't happen if he'd let them leave.

These 'peace marches' are PC-ness gone wild, plus must they be in Edinburgh every time? It brings the city to a standstill.
Lauren, Edinburgh

I hope all the people who are marching, will put this much time and effort into voting. Your vote is your voice, so if you voted, you have every right to protest - if not, don't bother throwing the toys out the pram now!
Louise, Edinburgh

Whether or not I agree with the war, it has started and quite frankly we should be spending our time and energy supporting the young men and women who are over there instead or protesting. These kids are giving their lives and all they read and here about are anti-war demonstrations instead of support for there efforts. It must be so demoralising to have the entire nation putting you down.
Kathleen, Scotland

Thank God for the protests.
Stephen, Edinburgh

We should be organising a pro-war demo showing support for our troops. The anti-war demonstrators are playing into the hands of a vicious dictator responsible for untold misery. We should be thankful that Blair and Bush have the guts to sort this out. At least they are democratically elected.
Tom, Scotland

This protest has not been authorised yet the protesters will go ahead because it suits them to do so. Sounds a bit like what the UK and US did when the UN refused to authorise this war. Ironic isn't it?
Dave, UK

I'm an Edinburgh resident. Of course people should demonstrate and show this government that the people of Scotland are not taken in by their lies. I am working here in the Middle East. My colleagues, all my students are vehemently opposed to the war. I have Iraqi neighbours next door whose relatives are in Baghdad.

They want shot of Saddam but not by foreign powers illegally invading their country. My students in fact are now cheering any deaths of British or American troops. Who can blame them? They are professional killers sent in with overwhelming force to destroy a small thirld world country. There is no morality in this war.

The USA particularly is noted for propping up corrupt regimes throughout the world and what about its own so-called democracy? - the elctions, prisoners on death row, gagging all dissent on debate about the war. Goodluck to the demo. I'm a rugby supporter but there are more important things.
David Cole, Al Jasrah Bahrain

How sad that the right to demonstrate is second to a load of middle class people watching a sports game! Ban the rugby if anything, they are the people who causing problems to us, the citizens of Edinburgh, the police allow rugby types away with anything.

Our whole town becomes these people's urinal, imagine if the peace protesters copied that example! Mind you that's all 'just public schoolboy high jinx' and the police love rugby, but, there is no profit in freedom of expression, hence these warnings.

I shall be on the demo with my family and will not be scared off by these bullyboy tatics. It is only because of the protests that the allies are carefully targeting, otherwise they would be carpet bombing as in previous conflicts.

We, the people of Scotland,along with others, must keep up the pressure on the warmongers, that will really help the ordinary people of Iraq by letting them know we are watching not only Bush, Blair but also the previously USA backed Saddam, and they ALL will be held accountable for their actions.
Tom Proudfoot, Edinburgh Scotland

If we can't protest when the Yanks and Brits are bombing civilians - when can we protest? Are we supposed to just sit at home until the slaughter is over - then say "we told you so"? Anyone who says we shouldn't be allowed to voice our disagreement with this illegal war should be given a gun and sent to Iraq. Let's see how trigger happy they are then. Support the troops - bring them home!
Simon, Glasgow, Scotland

As an ex-pat living now in Canada, I am deeply ashamed of all of these anti war demos when the young men and women of the British & US armed forces are fighting to relieve the suffering of so many people at the blood-soaked hands of Saddam and his henchmen. Why have these same "do-gooders" not been demonstrating for the past 10 years or more to save the people of Iraq from the slow painful death they have been experiencing or do they think this is acceptable in their fantasy world in which they so safely live?
Bill Flucker, Brantford Ontario Canada

America has been trying to destablise the Arab world for over five decades and one of the measures they took to achieve this was to support Saddam Hussein, supplying him with $5bn worth of military aid while simultaneously supporting Iran having installed the Shah as a dictatorial ruler.

This dirty war is a result of America's dirty deeds in the past. They could not take Iraq's oil (which is 1/4 as expensive as oil from OPEC) so now Dubya has decided to take it by force.

As if this wasn't bad enough, our troops have been sent to die in a war which there is no need to participate in. The American Department of Defence made it perfectly clear weeks ago that they were ready to attack with or without international support.

That's why I marched in Glasgow on the 15th of February, that's why I sat in the junction between St. Vincent Street and Renfield Street last Saturday, and that's why I'll be on the streets of Edinburgh this weekend.
Owen Duffy, Glasgow, Scotland

I think people should have the right to protest but it must be within the law. If public safety is compromised by a lack of police there could be a disaster. In a large gathering of excited young people events can develop a momentum of thier own. There must be some sort of organisation behind this protest and they should be thinking as much about public safety as they are about making a protest.
Innes Connor, Edinburgh, UK

Although initially I supported the schoolchildren in their demonstrations against the war I am not so sure now after witnessing various people being harassed by a group of children, who could have been no older than 13, shouting abuse at them simply for going to work. Grinding industry to a halt is not the answer we need.

I am also saddened that they feel the need to repeatedly bunk off school to make their voices heard. They don�t seem to understand that they are effectively messing up their own chances of success in the future they are campaigning so hard for.

I also feel increasingly frustrated by the marches in Edinburgh city centre. After a hard day in the office the last thing I want to do is have to walk the 60-minute journey home. These people will not gain support by making ordinary peoples lives harder. We may not support the war but having loved ones out in Iraq gives us enough to think about without having to deal with extra hassles.
Carol, Edinburgh

Just because this war has started doesn't make it right. Our government has taken us all into an illegal and immoral venture. We have a moral duty to speak out. Most of the people demonstrating are not "the usual suspects" - The police are just trying to scare them off.
Antony , UK

There is no doubt that the naive, but well intentioned anti-war protestors will be helped along by the usual group of Trots and anarchists whose only aim is public disorder. This will be followed by the usual condemnation of the police who are simply trying to maintain public order. Maybe the genuine protesters should stay at home and not threaten public safety.
Guy, London UK

I believe as we are at war all demonstrations should be banned, after all if you protest in Iraq you meet a bullet
Jim

I will be out demonstrating again this Saturday, because it is the only way I can see to make my views known. I think we can get too fixated on Saddam Hussein. The issue is not whether Saddam is a bad ruler, but what right we have to assault Iraq in order to depose him. The great majority of governments represented at the UN do not support his action. It is becoming increasingly clear that many or most of the people of Iraq do not want our help. We should get out as soon as possible, bring our boys home and thank them for a job well done.

I also feel strongly that a government which calls itself democratic should respond to some degree to the opinions of the electorate, and while I respect Tony Blair for the strength of his convictions, I will certainly vote against Labour in the upcoming Scottish elections because I feel that the strongly-expressed views of a majority of the electorate have been disregarded, and the government deserve to be punished for this.
David Carroll, Edinburgh Scotland

I am wholeheartedly opposed to any loss of innocent life and like all sane people would welcome a non aggressive solution to any conflict of opinions. For the past 12 years the 'sane' world has attempted to solve the obvious problems within Iraq with little result - the killing and persecution of innocents continues, even during the present conflict.

This is not a war on Iraq, this is a war against the oppression generated by one man and his close followers, a man who has scant regard for anyone except himself. I would be, as would everyone, most happy if these 'peace' protests (a luxury not aforded to the people of Iraq) resulted in the end of the conflict but unless Saddam Hussein decides to attend one himself on the way to giving up power I can't see it happening.

All I can say to the protesters, and this is my opinion, is get off the bandwagon and if you really want to help the innocent of Iraq, organise aid relief for these people - the removal of the present dictators help will only be the beginning, but it will be the beginning of a far better life for all of them.
John, Edinburgh, Scotland

I'm all for people having their say in our civilised country, but now that the war has started I think that any anti-war marches that go ahead are just being downright disrespectful to our troops who are out there fighting to rid the world of this evil tyrant!
B Montgomery, Edinburgh, Scotland

No-one is complaining about the overthrow of President Hussein. We are protesting against the way in which our government and the American Government choose to do so. They clearly have no authority to mount this invasion and their tactics confirm that all this war is about is securing Iraq oil fields. Protests must continue and will continue until this illegal invasion of Iraq is stopped. Those who think this war is about liberating the people of Iraq, wake up and stop buying everything the government and media tell you.
Craig Milne, Edinburgh, Scotland

We in Britain are lucky to be able to march and demonstrate our views to our government. Unfortunatley the Iraqi people do not have this right. Our right is taken for granted and these people do so with good intentions, war is not an answer to all problems. But they do not give answers for Iraq.

If Britan and America continued to follow the UN path and Sadam held up his hands and said yes we have weapons of mass distruction, how does the removal of those weapons help the Iraqi people? He would still be in power and still be able to force his oppression on the population.

Sanctions have not worked for the past 10 years. So demonstrate by all means but don't say 'no war' with 'no solution'. I believe the easy decision has been to shout against the war... the hard decision was to say 'let's help the Iraqis put an end to this brutal regime'.

We have given the ultimate sacrifice in our own troops' lives to help the Iraqis and safe guard Britain. Instead of 'no war' let's shout 'no Sadam'.
John Farrell, Edinburgh

Where were all the protesters when Iraq attacked Iran, gassed the Kurds and invaded Kuwait? It worries me to see that Saddam seems to have more loyal supporters in this country than he does in Iraq!
Scott, Dundee, Scotland

Scott from Dundee - which countries do you think put a) the idea of gassing Iraqi people into Saddam's head and b) supplied countless tonnes of chemical and biological weapons to him in the first place?
DP, Dunfermline

I have never been on any demonstration before but have been on both anti-war marches in Glasgow. I am not in favour of Hussein - I think he is a horrible man who has hurt a lot of people. I just think that there has to be a better way of dealing with him than going on with this war - which has already cost too many innocent lives on all sides.
Ruth Baillie, Glasgow, Scotland

Ruth - nobody likes war innocent people will always be killed but can you please tell us another way of getting rid of this horrible dictator who thinks nothing of torturing and killing innocents?

We have had sanctions which he still gets round to build his palaces or chemicals, no money getting spend on ordinary Iraq's who are starving. We gave him and his henchmen an option to go into exile, which he refused.

Could some of these so-called peaceful protestors please explain any other way of getting rid of him.
Jill, Glasgow

Malcolm Dickson, Lothian and Borders Police Assistant Chief Constable, is a decent man and he's right that march organisers are best served by talking to the events planning group in the police before getting underway. As someone who has organised quite sizeable marches through Edinburgh in the past, given a good enough lead time and agreement on a route, this is by far the best way to ensure safety and control.

However, this isn't really a march in that sense. We are mounting a campaign of non-violent civil disobedience against our government's illegal and violent invasion of another sovereign nation. Normal rules do not apply. That's why Lothian and Borders' finest are sending this message out via the media. There are no hierarchies running the show - this is a grassroots movement which is justifiably angry and must be allowed to vent its spleen.

As long as the police don't get worried and start doing something stupid like Strathclyde did last weekend, we should be fine - and L&B are really much better at this than Strathclyde. Anyway, peaceful protest is a right not a privilege.
Duncan Hothersall, Edinburgh, Scotland

Voice your opinion by all means, but take a look at the company you keep. How many of these people have come in from the Faslane Naval Base or the Last Animal Rights, Ban Hunting Demo and have nothing better to do than appear on the streets? All that I can hope is that it rains very heavily on your parade, and that you have time to and read just what Mr Hussain has achieved for the people of Iraq in the past 23 years. Not a lot does not even begin to describe it.
Bill C. Billinness, Bracknell, UK

Our leaders should listen to the voices of the people for peace and tolerance as well as justice and equality
Betty