Subject: AUT: Demo numbers worldwide
From: chris wright <cwright.21stcentury-AT-rcn.com>
Date: 17 Feb 2003 23:26:28 -0600


This is a listing of what I have seen so far internationally.  Note I am
rounding numbers and this is NOT an attempt at a complete list.  I left
a lot of places out.  Also, some numbers from Indymedia seem radically
inflated, while others seem about right.  I checked the US numbers
specifically and went with the lower-end estimates from Indymedia. 
Other numbers came from other reports internationally which I checked
against Indymedia.  Roughly, 600 cities worldwide (and that is prolly
leaving out a lot of small demos, like in Athens, GA, which at 300 was
the largest demo in downtown Athens in decades!) and over ten million
people, easily.  Maybe more like tens of millions, given that nearly ten
million marched in Europe alone.

This does not pretend to say anything about the character of the
demonstrations, which varied wildly and widely in character, as did
police response (for example, the isolation of thousands of marchers in
New York City and the arrest of over 300 people, and the hospitalization
of more.)

One interesting point: the appeal to the UN is not necessarily a bad
thing, on the part of non-activists.  Here's why: for the first time,
including in the US, there is a sense that is emerging that actions like
war are a matter of international concern and that people world wide
have a right to say something.  It indicates a level of
internationalism, in a weak form, but real nonetheless, that I think is
new and unique prior to a war.  So while I am against any idea that the
UN would be a good way to handle this, since it could not be, the
orientation of millions of people worldwide (and not just the ones who
marched) towards a basic internationalism is a good thing.  We need to
find a way to speak to this and not merely write off the "the UN would
be better" sentiment as liberalism.

US:
LA - 30,000 (Indymedia claims 75-100,000)
Chicago - 6,000 (current Indymedia claims are 7,000, as it apparently
grew a lot after it got started.  The Chicao PD estimate was 6,000)
Philadelphia - 10,000
Minneapolis - 7,500
San Diego - 10,000
Hawaii (across about 3 cities on 3 islands) - 1,500
New York - 500,000
San Francisco - 200,000

Canada:
Edmonton - 2,500 (Indymedia claims 10,000)
Toronto - 50,000 (the Toronto Star reported up to 80,000!)
Vancouver - 30,000

Oslo, Norway - 60,000
Rome, Italy - 2 million
London, England - 1 million
Lisbon, Portugal - 80,000
Canberra, Australia - 10,000
Melbourne, Australia - 100,000 (though the state media, ABC, is claiming
150,000 and Indymedia is claiming 200,000!)
Sydney, Australia - 200-250,000
Tokyo, Japan - 25,000
Buenos Aires, Argentina - 15,000
Xania, Crete - 2,500 (60,000 people in Xania)
Alicante, Spain - 70,000
Barcelona, Spain - 500,000
Madrid, Spain - 1 million (2 million according to Indymedia)
Las Palmas, Spain - 100,000
Seville, Spain - 250,000
Cadiz, Spain - 100,000
Vienna, Austria - 20,000
Sao Paulo, Brazil - 30,000
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - 15,000
Johannesburg, South Africa - 10,000
Stockholm, Sweden - 80,000
Gotenberg, Sweden - 30,000
Glasgow, Scotland - 50,000
Mexico City, Mexico - 50,000
Stuttgart, Germany - 50,000
Berlin, Germany - 500,000
Irunea, Spain - 20,000
Barcelona, Spain - 1 million
Budapest, Hungary - 20,000
Warsaw, Poland - 3,000
Paris, France - 800,000
Dublin, Ireland - 100,000
Amsterdam, Netherlands - 100,000
Athens, Greece - 200,000
Helsinki, Finalnd - 15,000
Bern, Switzerland - 40,000
Copenhagen - 35,000

Other notes:

The Atlanta City Council adopted a resolution, 03-R- 0195, at its Feb 3,
2003 meeting, which opposes war in Iraq and calls on the Administration
of the United States to seek more peaceful means to settle international
differences. 

If anyone has corrections, please make them known.

Cheers,
Chris






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