US embassy cable - 03ABUDHABI1285

UNCLAS ABU DHABI 001285 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PGOV, KDEM, KPAL, PHUM, IZ, TC 
SUBJECT: PEACEFUL MARCHES IN PROTEST OF THE IMPENDING 
U.S. MILITARY ATTACK ON IRAQ 
 
1. (U) The local press reported that students at the 
UAE University in Al-Ain participated in a peaceful 
anti-war demonstration on March 15. (Note: The UAE 
University, with some 14,000 students, is the largest 
in the UAE.  End note.) The march was organized by the 
Emirates National Students' Union (ENSU) and was the 
first public protest by students against the war. 
Marchers carried UAE flags and placards criticizing 
the U.K. and the U.S. Speaking for the demonstrators, 
Wahid Al Badi, president of ENSU, asserted there was 
no justification for war. Badi was concerned that 
innocent Iraqis would be killed and he called for 
Muslim solidarity, especially with the Palestinian 
people. (Note: The number of demonstrators was not 
reported. End note.) 
 
2. (U) Another peaceful demonstration took place in 
the Northern Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah on March 16. 
Local press reported that hundreds of protesters of 
various nationalities chanted slogans against the U.K. 
and the U.S. They called for a peaceful resolution to 
the Iraqi crisis and demanded that the inspectors be 
allowed to do their job.  Protestors linked Iraq with 
the Palestinian situation and accused the U.S. of 
double standards, coveting Iraq's oil resources, and 
humiliating Arabs. 
 
3. (SBU) Comment: These rallies are not unexpected 
considering the recent anti-war demonstrations that 
have taken place throughout the world. The protests 
here have been peaceful and well-organized and much 
smaller than the demonstrations that took place 
throughout the UAE at the beginning of the Intifadah 
and the Israeli incursion into Jenin. More marches are 
likely to occur in the near future, especially during 
the first few days of a conflict with Iraq. 
 
WAHBA