New York: The little hillocks in Washington Square Park provided a vantage point for hundreds of people to watch the pepper-spray struggle for control of the streets between police and protesters after Saturday's huge anti-war demonstration in New York, writes Conor O'Clery in New York
For three hours, a colourful mass of up to 200,000 chanting and cheering people had streamed into the square in downtown Manhattan. As they arrived, a police loudspeaker repeated every few seconds: "The march is now over, please leave the area."
But several hundred young protesters stayed for what could only be called an anti-war street party, dancing to improvised drums at the junction of Waverley Street and Washington Square West.
They might have drifted away in time but the march permit ran out at 4 p.m. and at that point riot police began to push them out of the area. Little clouds of brown pepper spray rose in the air as the police sprayed anyone refusing to budge.
Then the arrests began. "Shame! Shame!" shouted the massed spectators in the park as prisoners were taken to a large police van. Some threw plastic bottles and placards down at the police, while just a few metres behind them dozens of chess players continued their games at stone tables.
For some hours the struggle went on, as protesters responded to the pepper spray with another sort of spray, possibly Mace, according to police. Before the streets were reopened, 91 people were arrested and eight officers taken to hospital for treatment.
The march itself, stretching 30 blocks from Herald Square along Broadway, was colourful and entirely peaceful, its size and composition stark evidence of the polarising effect in the United States of the invasion of Iraq.
Apart from the usual militant groups, there were elegantly dressed people from the Upper East side and parents carrying children on their shoulders. At its head were actor Roy Scheider and singer Patti Smith. One man identified himself with a placard saying "Pragmatic MBA for Peace".
Outrage against the war was expressed in hand-written messages such as "I am neither shocked and awed, I am grief stricken and furious", and "Freedom fries as Baghdad burns". Many singled out President George Bush for abuse. "Stop mad cowboy disease", said one. "A village in Texas is missing an idiot", said another.
It was almost festive at times, with stilt-walkers and people in fancy dress, and a group of young women called the "Missile Dick Chicks", dressed in American colours and wearing giant imitation penises in the shape of missiles.
Nancy Hunting, a teacher, said she was demonstrating because "I feel horribly sick that we are killing people." Doris Loncar and Maria Bulic, who said they were housewives, came to protest the death of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, who was crushed by an Israeli bulldozer.
Brynn Williams, carrying a poster attacking CNN coverage, said: "All we see is precisely what the military want us to see."
There were other protests across the United States, both for and against the war. In Washington, several thousand people marched near the White House; in Salt Lake City, demonstrators held a "Funeral for Democracy", carrying coffins of the UN and of civil liberties.
In Chicago, where an anti-war protest took place on Friday, about 3,000 people gathered in Federal Plaza in support of President Bush, backed by dozens of bikers on Harley-Davidsons.
At a pre-Oscars luncheon in Santa Monica, California, many celebrities spoke against the war. Documentary film-maker Michael Moore, wearing a badge that said "Shoot movies, not Iraqis", said the lesson for children was that "violence is an accepted means by which to solve a conflict."