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| Down Under |
| Islamic |
| 2006-07-21 |
| TENS of thousands of people are expected to march through the Sydney CBD today calling for an end to Israel's attacks on Lebanon and Palestine. The protest is expected to start at Town Hall at midday and move along George Street to King Street and into Martin Place. Keysar Trad, from the Islamic Friendship Association of Australia, said despite a last-minute change of venue and expected bad weather, up to 20,000 people would turn out for the protest. "We think there will be anywhere between 10,000 and 20,000 people," Mr Trad said. "There could be a lot more - if we didn't have these dramas, I would expect maybe 100,000." Mr Trad said he expected to see many mothers and children taking part in the march after seeing images of the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. "One thing that has really been heartbreaking is the number of mothers who have called us to join the rally after seeing the images of all those children dying," he said. Mr Trad said the message of the protest would be one of peace. "We just want to give a message that peace is the only solution for the world community," he said. "It's just a terrible, terrible human catastrophe that's taken place as a result of the bombing. We just have to do what we can to put an end to it." Mr Trad promised the rally would be a peaceful one. "We will not tolerate any violence, we will not tolerate any racism, we will not tolerate anything that does not serve the cause of peace." Police said anti-social or criminal behaviour would not be tolerated and about 400 police would be out in force. "We have been assured by the organisers that the protest will be peaceful, and we want to facilitate the protest in the same manner," Assistant Commissioner Mark Goodwin said. "Our aim is to ensure the protest causes minimal disruption to the city. However, if this changes in any way, our response will be swift and sure." Police said motorists could expect disruption to traffic in the city, and four streets - King, Pitt, Castlereagh and Elizabeth - would be closed from 6am to 4pm. Similar protests will be held in Adelaide and Melbourne today. |
| Posted by:Oztralian |