LONDON0/Hollywood – Hundreds of thousands of people held protest around the world to mark the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.

Five years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq, the historic Hollywood and Vine intersection was flooded on Saturday with an eclectic parade of thousands of anti-war protesters.
Los Angeles police estimated about 2,000 demonstrators showed up, while organizers claimed the group was about 10,000 strong. People crowded the street and sidewalks for about two full blocks.
The rally, coordinated with others across the world, comes just days before the March 20 anniversary of the war's start - and in the midst of presidential primaries, creating a swell in political activism among young people.
David Wong, a 26-year-old from Alhambra, raised a sign reading ""End this new imperialism, build bongs not bombs, burn hash not humans, grow bud not body count, waterboard Bush.""
In an ironic twist, he had drawn a peace sign next to his proposed presidential punishment.
""I suppose irony could be funny,"" Wong said, adding he had been waiting for someone to call him out on the sign. ""Man, I'll tell you, I'm opposed to all war. How could you believe in mass killing?""
Marissa Micik, a 27-year-old Hollywood teacher, hoisted a colorful painting of Barack Obama's face.
""Obama is the only candidate opposed to the war in the beginning,"" she said. ""Obama is really the candidate to get (the U.S.) out of Iraq.""
One man wore a bright orange jumpsuit and a black sack over his head. His arms and legs were chained, and a woman
--------London rally
Some 50,000 anti-war protesters took part in march in London on Sunday. The demonstration started with a rally at Trafalgar Square before setting off to symbolically encircle the Houses of Parliament.
Lindsey German, national convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, told the rally, ""Five years on, we're still marching because they are still occupying.""
She called for Tony Blair and the other architects of the Iraq invasion to be held to account for their lies and their crimes.
The mood of the march was angry but determined. Many of the protesters had marched against the Iraq war five years ago, but there were also many students and young people who had been drawn into the anti-war movement since then.
Charlotte Brown, a student at Sussex university, told Socialist Worker, ""It's important to show there is a resistance movement here, and that it's an international movement, even if the government doesn't listen.""
Other speakers at the Trafalgar Square rally included the film-maker Nick Broomfield. He talked of how the arguments the anti-war movement made five years ago have been proved right, while the warmongers' claims have been proved to be lies.
""The question now, five years on, is should they be allowed to get away with it,"" he added.
Tony Benn, president of the Stop the War Coalition, paid tribute to the resilience of the anti-war movement, adding that, ""Parliament represents the past – the streets represent the future.""