Students battle with Sydney police

ANGRY students protesting at the war on Iraq battled police in central Sydney yesterday, throwing plastic chairs, bottles and eggs and smashing street signs.

Rattling tambourines and beating drums the schoolchildren, many in uniform, chanted “No War” and fought running skirmishes with ranks of police.

Several students were wrestled to the ground by police after charging into them with fists flying.

“It shouldn't be violent but what are we going to do,” said 15-year-old Hajir, wearing a T-shirt reading: “Make Chocolate, Not War.”

One placard read: “We are ready to fight, world peace is our right.”

Other students, who had also participated in a raucous rally by schoolchildren early this month, said they were embarrassed the protest was disintegrating into violence.

“We came here for peace not to start a war,” said Sian Parslow, 17.

Meanwhile, two anti-war activists from the United States are to tour Britain addressing protest rallies and meeting leaders of the anti-war movement there.

Michael Letwin, founder of an anti-war group in New York, and Anthony Arnove, a writer and activist, will give first hand reports of the campaign in the US against military action.

They will address rallies in London and Edinburgh on Saturday and appear on a number of public platforms next week. The Stop The War Coalition in Britain announced plans to hold a third national rally against military action in Iraq.

This rally will be staged in the capital, London, on April 12.

South Korean riot police yesterday arrested about 30 anti-war protesters who tried to barge into the US embassy in Seoul.

Some of the demonstrators had approached the embassy wearing business suits, hoping to dupe the officers and scale its walls before being caught.

Meanwhile, three other protesters climbed an 18ft McDonald’s restaurant sign and unfurled an anti-war banner. Using the fast food chain’s ubiquitous golden arches logo, the protest sign read “M-ad War”. One of the protesters was wearing a President Bush mask, and was waving a toy machine gun.