SYDNEY, Australia - Prime Minister John Howard was forced to leave his official residence on foot Wednesday by anti-war protesters who barricaded the entrances, blocking his motorcade from driving out of the gates.
Greenpeace demonstrators dressed as United Nations staff chained themselves to the gates and underneath jeeps, blocking all the entrances to Howard´s mansion in the capital of Canberra.
The protest came the day after Howard said 2,000 Australian troops would join President Bush´s coalition to invade Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to leave the country.
Greenpeace chief executive Peter Mullins confronted Howard, telling him "his decision to go war in Iraq was his decision alone and was certainly not the Australian population´s."
Mullins said Howard replied: "I respect your views but I´d like you to respect mine."
Four of the 13 protesters were slapped with breach of peace orders — meaning they had to formally promise not to return to the premises, police said.
A recent poll showed 71 percent of Australian voters oppose military action without a United Nations mandate.
