'We want to say that any war means destruction'

EASTERN EUROPE/DAY OF PROTEST: Authorities in central Europe are readying themselves for a wave of demonstrations today against war in Iraq, a chance for thousands to show that they do not follow the pro-US stance of their governments.

The leaders of Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary surprised the world last month by signing a letter which called for unity with the US over Iraq and warned the UN that its credibility would suffer if Baghdad failed to comply with the Security Council resolution. The letter caused ripples across Europe, but frustration at home for many Poles and Czechs.

"I want more facts. I hope the war won't happen, but who knows? Can you ever imagine a good reason for a war?" asked Mr Michal Polonski, a student from Warsaw.

Police in the Polish capital expect several thousand protesters to gather in the city's Castle Square near the old town for today's anti-war rally.

The location is significant - it is adjacent to the residence of the Polish President, Mr Alexsander Kwasniewski, who announced after meeting President George Bush recently that "Mr Bush's policy is my policy".

Mr Lezsek Miller, the Polish Prime Minister, made clear on a visit to Washington last week that support for the US over Iraq was a priority of the Polish government's foreign policy.

But the leaders of the Polish Peasants' Party, the junior partners in Mr Miller's coalition government, will tell whoever asks them that they oppose war.

A recent poll suggests that only a slim majority of Poles oppose a war with Iraq, in marked contrast to the strong anti-war feeling in the rest of Europe. Some 51 per cent of Poles oppose a war in Iraq in any circumstances, with 60 per cent opposing a war without a UN mandate.

In the neighbouring Czech Republic, history is about to be turned on its head today. Fourteen years ago, huge peaceful demonstrations in Prague's Wenceslas Square hastened the resignation of the Communist authorities in Czechoslovakia.

Today, it's the Communists holding a demonstration in Wenceslas Square to protest against the looming war in Iraq. But few people besides the old hardliners want to be associated with the Communists' march. Instead, a group calling itself "Initiative Against War" is holding a separate march.

"We are ready for the demonstration and think that it is important to fight against war by non-violent means," said a police spokesman in Prague.

Around 500 protesters held a demonstration yesterday in Sarajevo, carrying banners reading "Disarm USA!" and "OILympic Games" as they marched on the US embassy.

A decade after the Bosnian civil war and the four-year siege of the city, protesters said that, as victims of war, they were determined to show their opposition to military action in Iraq.

Mr Senad Pecanin, a journalist in Sarajevo, said: "We want to say that any war means destruction, and all the people here know how many innocent civilians may die."