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Russian youths stage anti-US protest
Mon, 03 Nov 2008 07:50:17 GMT Press TV

Activists carried pumpkins for what they called the “Helloween” American Show
Thousands of Russians have staged a demonstration outside the US Embassy in Moscow criticizing Washington for its hawkish foreign policies.

Some of the 15,000 protesters were symbolically dressed in orange, referring to the 2004 pro-Western Orange revolution in Ukraine, while some others carried lit jack-o’-lanterns for what they called the “Helloween” American Show.

On each pumpkin was written the name of a person who had lost his/her life as a result of conflicts unleashed by the US.

Some of the names appeared to be from those of the independence-seeking region of South Ossetia, which was at the heart of the August war between Russia and US-backed Georgia.

Most of the demonstrators, men and women in their teens and early 20s, said they held the United States responsible for the Caucasus war, stressing that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili would not have attacked South Ossetia without express permission from American officials.

“The Americans have a habit of dictating the rules on the international scene. The most striking examples are the Georgian and Ukrainian revolutions and the Iraq war,” a 19-year-old activist told AFP during the Sunday rally.

“We don’t like to be told how to live, and we don’t like it when our peacekeepers are attacked,” another young protester from the Nashi group expressed.

There was also a strong police presence at the rally, who blocked the streets and stood guard in front of the US embassy.

FF/DT