Anti-Bush protests in Britain, 25 held

London, Jun 16 (PTI) At least 25 persons were arrested
here as over 2000 people demonstrated against U.S. President
George W. Bush and his much-criticised foreign policy,
coinciding with his visit to Britain.

An estimated 2,500 people held a noisy demonstration
against the U.S. president and his "War on Terror" at the
Parliament Square as he attended a private dinner nearby
hosted by British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Sunday night.

Protesters blew whistles, banged their drums and voiced
their opposition to the Iraq war, police said.

Twenty-five people were arrested near Parliament Square
after they pelted officers with placards and tried to breach a
police cordon near Downing Street, as the U.S. President
arrived for dinner.

Some of the placards read "Bush - terrorist", "We want
welfare, not Warfare".

"This is a signal to the incoming U.S. president that the
people of this country are absolutely against this illegal war
and destroying of civil liberties," said 71-year-old Sarah
Cox, a retired teacher who carried a Bush effigy bearing a
cowboy hat, toy pistol and miniature missile.

Writer Sheila O'Callaghan, 59, said she hoped the next
president would bring a change in America's relationship to
the rest of the world.

"Anything else would be a tragedy for the whole of
humanity," she said.

About 1,200 officers were deployed to secure the
president's 24-hour visit to Britain, although Deputy
Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison told reporters there was
no specific threat to the trip.

Earlier in the day, about 70 protesters wearing orange
underpants over their clothes gathered at nearby Trafalgar
Square to protest against the Guantanamo Bay prison camp where
an estimated 4,000 were held after the 9/11. The underwear was
labelled "Fair Trial My Arse."

The protests were small compared with previous
demonstrations. Police said a rally marking the fifth
anniversary of the Iraq war in March was attended by 10,000
demonstrators.