The march shows its opposition to any military intervention that violes the sovereignty of the Peoples and ignores International Law

NO TO WAR

The well-known slogan 'No to war'
is once again the subject of conversation in Spain.

During a recent television speech, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez used the historic slogan again, evoking memories of the massive protests against the Iraq war over twenty years ago.

In the early 2000s, 'No to war' became the symbol of a huge peace movement in Spain. Millions of people took to the streets at the time to protest against the planned invasion of Iraq and the support of the Spanish government for that military operation.

The direct cause of the war was a meeting on March 16, 2003, on the Azores. There, US President George Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, and Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar discussed the situation in Iraq. They gave the Saddam Hussein regime an ultimatum of 24 hours to disarm.


When that ultimatum expired, the invasion of Iraq began on March 20, 2003. The war was justified with the accusation that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction.

Later it turned out that these weapons were never found, which further fueled criticism of the war and the political decision.


In Spain, a large protest movement emerged even before the start of the war. In cities across the country, banners with 'No to war' hung from balconies and buildings. Students, organizations, artists, and citizens joined mass protests against the war.


The protests quickly grew into huge demonstrations. In February and March 2003, millions of people took to the streets in various Spanish cities. They became some of the largest protests in recent Spanish history.

Even a year later, the war remained an important topic of protest. In March 2004, a day after the attacks in Madrid in which 193 people were killed and more than 2000 were injured, large demonstrations took place again, condemning both terrorism and war policy.


Due to the recent television speech by Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez about the Middle East conflict, the slogan 'No to war' is now back in the public debate. For many Spaniards, it evokes memories of a period when millions of people together made their voices heard against war.