Christian anti-war campaigners join London march

Members of Pax Christi and Christian CND were among hundreds of peace groups marching through central London yesterday, to call for an end to the war in Afghanistan. Police estimated there were at least 10,000 marchers. The organisers said 50,000 people had turned out. The protesters, many bearing signs reading "Stop the War" and "Not in My Name," marched from Hyde Park to Trafalgar Square. Speakers told the crowd that the decisive victories of the anti-Taliban, Northern Alliance did not justify the military attacks on Afghanistan. Labour MP Alan Simpson, said: "When people say: 'Why are we all coming on this rally, the bombing has won, the Taliban have been driven out, surely that is the answer you are looking for,' I say: that it is not the answer at all. We have seen the removal of one feudal tyranny, only for it to be replaced by another." A spokesman for Pax Christi told ICN, campaigners would continue to hold silent prayers each evening in Whitehall until the war was over. Christian CND and Pax Christi also hold a prayer vigil on the steps of St Martin-in-the-Fields in Trafalgar Square, each Thursday evening from 6 - 7pm.