Protest in the park
Tens of thousands of protesters, including a significant number of Oxford students, gathered in Hyde Park on Sunday to take part in the National Demonstration against the bombing of Afghanistan.
It was the second march to have taken place since the bombing began, and aimed to show the government that there is considerable opposition to the current military campaign.
Crowds of people sporting placards and banners took over the streets on the march from Hyde Park to Trafalgar square, chanting anti-war messages, cheering and whistling.
A group of Wadham students carried a huge banner printed with 'Educate, agitate, organise'.
During the march, they joined forces with a number of students from St John's College. A campaigner said that she was "impressed with the turnout from Oxford."
There were a number of high profile speakers in Trafalgar Square at the end of the march, representing humanitarian and political organisations. Amongst them were Tariq Ali, a political activist in Oxford University in the 1960s, and the campaigning journalist John Pilger.
Both speakers questioned the motives of the coalition bombing, and voiced fears of a resulting humanitarian crisis.
The protest remained peaceful throughout, and whilst people were vocally passionate, there were no shows of outward aggression.
Marchers did however pour red dye into the fountains in Trafalgar Square "as a symbol of the current slaughter and bloodshed."
22nd Nov 2001