Spanish non-governmental organizations, pacifists, actors and trade unions on Thursday handed to the Spanish parliament two million signatures protesting the United States-led war on Iraq, which began earlier in the day. The signatures, contained in 800 packages, were collected during the last 15 days all over Spain.
Before the delivery, a performance was staged in front of the main entrance of the Congress Palace. The protesters remained on the stairway of the building chanting "No to War" or "Not in Our Name" for several minutes.
A group of representatives from the opposition Spanish Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) and other political groups joined in the protest.
"The government has made a terrible mistake by involving us all in an unfair, illegal and immoral war," a communique issued by the protesters said. It added that with the beginning of the military operations, "a terrible violation of human rights, national and international laws has started, with consequences that nobody knows."
Protesters had moments of tension with the police as they headed to the Congress carrying the packages of signatures in their hands.
Also on Thursday, thousands of people gathered at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid to keep three minutes silence in protest against the war on Iraq.
The protest started with singer Luis Pastor reading the poem "These times" and the song "No to War," written for demonstrators against war on Iraq. Iraqi poetess Bahira Abdulatif and actress Nuria Espert also read poems dedicated to the mothers of Iraq.
Then through a megaphone the sound of sirens was heard, then explosions, followed by three minutes of silence.
The demonstrators kept their arms raised, some of them holding candles, until the silence ended. (Xinhua)
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