Istanbul Anti-War Protest

UNCLAS ISTANBUL 002101 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: DECL: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL TU SUBJECT: Istanbul Anti-War Protest ¶1. (U) Around 5,000 people in Istanbul protested against a possible U.S.-led operation against Iraq on Sunday. The anti-war demonstration was organized with the participation of more than 170 NGOs, including the country's three big unions: Turk-Is (the Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions), the Confederation of Revolutionary Labor Unions (DISK) and the Confederation of Public Sector Labor Unions (KESK). Other participating organizations included the Chamber of Engineers and Architects, the Union of Turkish Doctors, Greenpeace, some political parties and several Islamist groups. ¶2. (U) The protest started around 11.00 a.m. in Abide-I Hurriyet Square in Istanbul's downtown Sisli District under tight police control. During the meeting, the union leaders made speeches and the crowd chanted anti-US and anti-war slogans including "No to Imperialist War," and "We Will Not Be American Soldiers." The speakers included a British Member of Parliament, Jeremy Corbyn from the Labor Party. The crowd dispersed after a few hours and there was no violence during the demonstration. ¶3. (SBU) Comment: Police contacts confirmed to us that 5,000 people participated in the demonstration, but noted that they had anticipated a crowd twice that size. End comment. ARNETT