Buses carrying hundreds of protesters were expected to leave Sydney for Canberra this morning, to coincide with the visit by the United States President, George Bush.

The Sergeant of Arms warns heckler Australian Senator Bob Brown of the Green Party he may be ejected shortly after he stood up and interrupted US President George W. Bush's address to the Australian Parliament in protest at the US war in Iraq (AFP/Paul J. Richards)

Rallies and marches in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne yesterday evening kicked off a series of actions to oppose the presidential visit and that of the Chinese leader, Hu Jintao.

In Sydney yesterday, the crowd, estimated by protest organizers to be 5000 people and by police at between 3000 and 4000, filled Town Hall square during peak hour.

Senator Bob Brown of the Greens was greeted with wild cheers and applause before he called on Mr Bush to release two Australians held in the US military jail in Cuba.

"How dare you lock up Australian citizens in Guantanamo Bay?" Senator Brown said.

He demanded that Mr Bush repatriate Mamdouh Habib, of Sydney, and David Hicks, of Adelaide, to Australia "the same as you repatriated the Americans to America".

A federal Labor MP, Harry Quick, repeated his wish to turn his back when Mr Bush addresses Parliament today, despite strict instructions from his party leader, Simon Crean.

"They told me I have to be respectful, respectful of the US President," he told the rally.

"But I will tell you, why should we respect this duplicitous conniving and lying President of the United States?"

Wearing a white band on his right arm, he said he hoped to be joined by a number of fellow MPs including Jennie George, Tanya Plibersek and the Greens senators Bob Brown and Kerry Nettle.

Australian police officers carry away a protestor as others try to control a crowd of hundreds as they were protesting against U.S. President George W. Bush's visit outside the United States embassy in the capital of Canberra on October 23, 2003. Bush earlier met with Prime Minister John Howard and addressed a joint sitting of the two houses in parliament. REUTERS/Adrees Latif

Protesters marched peacefully, albeit noisily, along George Street and up King Street, slowing as they passed the US consulate at Martin Place, which was guarded by police. They chanted "No racism, no war, this is what we are fighting for", and "Troops out now, Iraq for Iraqis" as they walked.

Donna Mulhearn, who acted as a human shield in Iraq and plans to go back there next month to establish houses for children left homeless in the conflict, said yesterday's protest meant the Australian public have not disengaged from the issue.

"The concerns and the fears that they had when the war was brewing in February-March is still deep within the Australian people," she said.

"I would like to see this translated into action and support for Iraqis and I think that it will."

A Democrat member of State Parliament, Arthur Chesterfield-Evans, told the rally in Martin Place that Australia should be a non-racist neighbor.

"John Howard does not speak for us - we oppose the war on Iraq, we oppose the use of pre-emptive strikes," he said.

Five buses filled with a total of 250 protesters were expected to leave from Central railway station early this morning to join protest actions in Canberra near Old Parliament House scheduled to begin at 9am. Additional buses were expected to leave from the eastern and western suburbs of Sydney, while protesters from Brisbane and Melbourne traveled to Canberra last night.

One of the protest conveners, Nick Everett, of the Stop the War Coalition, predicted that there would be even larger protests in Canberra today.

"I think the protests revive a sense of confidence and determination . . . that we can make headway and push back Bush and Howard's agenda," he said.

Simon Smart, a high school history teacher who had a "peace monitor" sticker stuck to his back over his blue business shirt, said he was drawn to yesterday's protest to "express some sort of voice against George Bush and Australia jumping on the bandwagon".

"The Australian population seems to have been clearly misled in [Howard and Bush's] justification for war," he said.

Copyright © 2003. The Sydney Morning Herald

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