NSW: Thousands of anti-war protesters take to Sydney streets

AAP General News (Australia)
08-12-2006
NSW: Thousands of anti-war protesters take to Sydney streets

By Tara Ravens

SYDNEY, Aug 12 AAP - Tired of the death and carnage in their homeland, about 1,000
mostly Lebanese protesters took to Sydney's streets today in a show of anti-Israeli sentiment.

Waving placards and shouting "Israel, the USA, how many kids have you killed today",
the march moved through the city from Town Hall to Hyde Park.

Leading the march, a band of young male Lebanese youths carried a massive sign - "Stop
Israeli Terror" - outlined by graphic pictures of dead or injured children.

Hassam Bazzi from the prime minister's Muslim Advisory Council said he had recently
returned from the war torn country.

"There is not a single bridge left, not a single school that hasn't been destroyed,
there's no mosques, no churches, no children that haven't been injured yet," he told the
crowd.

"I can't described what I've seen there."

With strong support from the highly emotional gathering, Mr Bazzi cried "death to the
enemies, long life for the Lebanese resistance".

"It is time for the good decent people in the world to tell Israel enough is enough," he said.

A few hours before the protest began, the UN Security Council adopted unanimously a
resolution calling for an end to fighting between Israel and Lebanon's Hizbollah and authorising
up to 15,000 new peacekeepers to enforce it.

But Islamic Friendship Association of Australia spokesman Keysar Trad told the rally
it did not go far enough.

"It seems we have some prospect of peace but it's still early days," he said.

"We still do not have an effective ceasefire. We still have Lebanese and Palestinian
civilians being killed."

Greens senator Kerry Nettle welcomed the resolution but condemned the Israeli government's
decision to keep attacking Lebanon for at least another 48 hours.

"Israel's decision to continue with their offensive whilst their cabinet considers
the UN resolution on Sunday demonstrates a callous disregard for human life," she said.

Labor minister Anthony Albanese agreed.

"There should be an immediate ceasefire right now and the UN resolution must be respected,"

he said in a letter read to the crowd.

Mr Trad said more than 1.5 million Lebanese had been displaced by the fighting, which
has caused more than $6 billion in damage.

He said Israel should not only stop its bombing of Lebanon but foot the damages bill.

"It must pay for the rebuilding, for every bridge, every school it has destroyed," Mr Trad said.

More than 300 police, including riot officers and PolAir, tracked the protest as it
marched through the city.

AAP tr/cjh/bwl

KEYWORD: MIDEAST PROTEST NIGHTLEAD

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