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| Friday, 27 September, 2002, 11:21 GMT 12:21 UK 'Why I'll be marching' ![]() More than 100,000 people are expected to attend an anti-war march in London on Saturday. Here some of them give their reasons for attending.
The Iraq issue is the tip of the iceberg, Muslims are being persecuted around the world. There is an agenda against us. I am also marching to show solidarity for the Palestinians. Many Muslims feel if that issue was solved, the problems in other Muslim countries would be solved too.
The Muslim community is criticised for not coming together, but we've organised for this march. It will bring together Muslims from all backgrounds and origins. We've felt ignored and hopeless in the past, but now we'll show we are united. I hope the governments of the US and UK will start to hear our voices.
When I've been out leafleting, people have seemed less convinced about attacking Iraq than they were about the war in Afghanistan. Then they saw a connection with 9/11. I'd like to think Tony Blair isn't like Bush and that he actually wants the support of the people for a war. I hope that if lots of people march it will make him think we should go further down the diplomatic route. It may also push wavering MPs to actually speak out against a conflict.
I don't want to see the US taking unilateral action - anything that is done should be through the UN. I wonder if the US has a hidden agenda. What's their issue with oil? Tony Blair seems to have gone through this in a gung-ho manner. I've never been on a march of any sort before, but I hope enough people turn out to make the point that he should listen to us.
The issue of Iraq should be decided by the surrounding countries in the Middle East. I can't say I'm an expert on this, but I think this is all to do with America's strategic position in the region. I really don't know if other people in the country agree with me, but I hope there are lots of us on the march, and our message goes out clearly.
It's all about oil and shoring Israel up. There's scant condemnation of Israel or the US's appalling human rights record. Both have weapons of mass destruction along with China, but I don't see Britain sabre-rattling over any of these regimes. Double standards and hypocrisy are not noble traits worth fighting for. Let's just simply bomb all those who aren't 'civilised', starting with Guantanamo Bay, it'd save a lot of debate. | Internet links: The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites Top UK stories now: Links to more UK stories are at the foot of the page. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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