"Do not come, Bush!"

Tens of thousands of protestors (about 100,000 according to 
the organisers) spilled into the streets of Istanbul, Turkey's 
largest city, last Sunday for a noisy demonstration against a 
two-day NATO Summit and the presence of US President George 
Bush.

The demonstrators, ranging from left-wingers to Islamists and 
environmentalists, chanted slogans such as "United States, 
Assassins, Leave the Middle East", "Do not come, Bush", and "The 
war organisation NATO, should be disbanded".

"The torturers, the killers are here for a summit of war. Our 
struggle is for the people of the Middle East who resist torture 
and occupation," said Mustafa Avci, the secretary-general of 
KESK, one of the biggest trade unions in Turkey.

Gencay Gursoy, the head of the Istanbul Union of Doctors said, 
"The NATO summit is a summit that will paint the Middle East red 
with blood and war."

"NATO is gathering here to prepare a dirty scheme on the Middle 
East. What they want is to take over the region's oil resources", 
said one of the protestors, a 52-year-old construction engineer.

Some 25,000 police, backed by paramilitary troops and combat 
aircraft, were on duty to protect NATO leaders. Steel and 
concrete barriers were erected to close off a large area around 
the summit venue.