Ozgur Der

There has been a demonstration held by Ozgur-Der, in Taksim Square in Istanbul to mark the second anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq. Despite the cold weather, a crowd of several hundred of people gathered to protest the USA.

The demonstration has begun with the speech of Hulya Sekerci, the chairwoman of Ozgur-Der. "The hatred against the USA is growing all around the world. Hundreds of thousands people in different countries have been taking to the streets to denounce the imperialist policies of the US government. The longer those policies continue, the more people will hate the USA in the world." said Hulya Sekerci.

Abdurrahman Dilipak, the columnist, mentioned that no soldier want to go to Iraq to take part in the troops because they are afraid of dying in a war which has been motivated by completely imperialistic desires. "The anti-war movement are raising, so the US government are trying to silence the press to ease the public resentment. The demonstrations held against the invasion of Iraq in several countires are a sign of deep-running public hatred against the US. It is clear that the imperialistic policies of the USA will soon come to an end." said Abdurrahman Dilipak.

In the press release read by Mustafa Egilli, the editor of Kudus Magazine, it is stated that it is not a war, but a brutal invasion. The US soldiers have used weapons and bombs in Iraqi occupation to kill the innocent people. The crimes, such as massacre and genocide, were committed. Mostly babies, children, and women have been killed for two years. There is no reliable figure on how many Iraqi people have died in the massacres. The occupation has turned into a humanitarian tragedy and a savageness. People must come together and act to build a movement to help bring an end to this brutal occupation. If we do not act to stop the war, the US-led invasion will spread in the Middle-East and soil the Muslim geography.

In the demonstration opposed to the invasion of Iraq, the protestors shouted anti-US slogans such as "Long live the global intifadah", "Stop the occupation of Iraq", "Iraq to the Iraqis", "Resistance against the American Imperialism" etc. The also carried banners written "United States, leave Iraq" and "No to Americanism".

Ozgur Children Choir and Grup Yuruyus have also taken part in the demonstration to support the protestors with the songs they sang. Their songs have often ceased by the protestors chanting slogans against the USA.