A peaceful rally led by key opposition leaders to oppose war against Iraq will be held in front of the British High Commission in Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, at 2.30pm tomorrow.

A delegation led by Opposition Leader and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and PRM chief Dr Syed Husin Ali will also deliver a memorandum to the British government through the High Commission to oppose any impending war against Iraq.

The organising chairperson and Keadilan deputy president Abdul Rahman Othman said the British High Commission has agreed to meet a delegation of 12 representatives for this purpose.

"This is a peaceful rally and the police have already been informed about it. A letter has been sent to the Cheras police and we hope they will cooperate and assist in traffic control just like what police in London and Rome did to control crowds of hundreds of thousands," added Abdul Rahman.

He was referring to the worldwide public demonstrations over the weekend to oppose any attacks by the United States on Iraq, with or without the United Nations' blessings.

BN invited

Abdul Rahman also said that an invitation was sent to the Barisan Nasional secretary-general to join in the rally.

"The Barisan Alternatif (BA) Youth movement has also written to the Barisan Nasional Youth movement asking them to participate as well.

"We sincerely look forward to the participation of members and leaders of the ruling party as we all share a common stand in this issue and aspire for world peace and the end to all wars."

Abdul Rahman stressed that although it was the opposition that had mooted the idea of the rally, it was nevertheless a joint effort involving non-governmental organisations, human rights groups, student bodies, and various other associations.

"And this is not an Islamic thing either, as we are also contacting church groups and other religious bodies asking them to support this effort or, better still, participate in the rally. Take this as a Malaysian effort."

Those interested in joining are asked to convene at the Pilgrims Fund Board building (Bangunan Lembaga Urusan Tabung Haji) at Jalan Ampang at 1pm tomorrow. The group will then move towards the High Commission at 1.45pm.