On Saturday afternoon Bermuda added almost a thousand people to the ten million strong world-wide joining in what was the largest ever internationally co-ordinated peaceful demonstration: the March for Peace against the war in Iraq.

The pacifist group `Bermuda for Peace' co-ordinated the event. David Northcott, one of the core participants of the group said: "This was probably one of the biggest (demonstrations) on international issues in Bermuda ever."

Crowds wearing peace sign stickers on their faces and holding placards with anti-war statements filled the lawn in front of City Hall listening to speeches by former independent MP Stuart Hayward and Bishop of Bermuda Rev. Ewan Ratteray.

The crowd was even treated to several live performances, with singer Mishka singing Bob Marley's "Get up, stand up", and event organiser Ayo Johnson inspiring a sing-along with "I ain't gonna study war no more".

A cross-section of Bermuda's population was there, with people of all ages and races, from babies in prams to the elderly, men, women, Christian, Muslim, black and white. Politicians such as the UBP's Jamahl Simmons and high profile lawyers such as Juan Wolffe and Elizabeth Christopher were also among the crowd.

"You are making history today," Mr. Northcott told the crowd from the steps of City Hall, over the sound of cars driving by, honking for peace. "This is the biggest ever internationally co-ordinated peace movement - 600 cities in 60 countries on five continents all over the world."

"There are times when in the interest of peace even pacifists must take action," said Mr. Hayward in his speech. "We do not want the warmongers to think or say because of our silence we are with them.

"But a march is not enough... it's not productive to call for an end to war over there while your heart is making war and strife right here at home." Quoting Mahatma Ghandi, Mr. Hayward added: "`We must be the change that we want to see.'

Imam Norwood Ameen Salaam, from the Masjid Muhammad, also called for change at home: "We have many causes in Bermuda. We have violence amongst our young brothers and sisters. We cannot forget that... Yes we are concerned about war, but we are concerned about war in Bermuda as well. We have to send a message to anyone who thinks they can take revenge on their fellow man... The strong man is not the one who can wrestle his opponent to the ground but the one who can control his anger.

"We have to understand we live in a global village... `He has made us into nations and tribes not to hate one another but to know and love one another.'"

American citizen Cindy Swan spoke in front of the crowd saying: "I am here on behalf of all American parents, especially mothers... If (my son) has to go to war I want him to go to a war that makes sense. This war makes absolutely no sense to me. Nobody wants this war except the US and Britain," Amnesty International's Lucy Attride-Stirling told the protesters. "We know what war does to countries, we have been there... There are some who say war is a necessary evil - no matter how necessary, one thing remains true: war is evil."

March organiser Ayo Johnson told the crowd: "When it comes to expressing the dictate of your conscience, especially at a time like this, no job should be allowed to quench that voice. No government saying you are not allowed to express that is worth listening to, no employer should be allowed to tell you not to say what is most deep in your soul.

"We're joining at least ten million people and if George Bush and Tony Blair can't listen to those people God help us all."

"It's no longer a matter of if but rather when exactly this will begin," said Bishop Ratteray in his speech. "I have no other choice but to protest that in the strongest possible terms." If the UN agreed war was the answer, he added, that would be: "an admission of failure on a massive scale by all of humanity... We have not arrived at that point (when a war is necessary). The case for war has not been made.

"Why is North Korea being treated so differently?" he asked. Then he said, to huge applause: "How is it that the US and Britain, who both possess weapons of mass destruction in abundance are acting so self-righteously in this dispute with Iraq?...

"I wonder about the real agenda... more power and the gaining of access to O-I-L. The emphasis is on Saddam Hussein... what if he or someone else were to say let's get rid of President Bush?"

After the speeches, the protesters took to the streets, with event organisers Ayo Johnson and Walton Brown leading the way. Followed by Police and an ambulance, the protesters marched towards Front Street. "We filled the whole of Burnaby Street, like two or three blocks," noted a pleased Mr. Northcott. Event organisers estimated the crowd at between five and six hundred people, however VSB radio news put that number closer to one thousand.

The crowd then marched up to Middle Road towards the Arboretum, but not before holding up traffic outside the US Consulate in Devonshire. "If war breaks out we are definitely going to be holding a vigil outside the US Consul," said Mr. Northcott.

"A lot of the time we say people don't care," commented protester Travis Gilbert. "I think today it was proven all over the world that people do care, and that's encouraging."