APEC: Dismal Turnout 3000 Anarchists and Communists

The protesters represented a wide range of causes, from gay rights to Save the Whales. Red and black banners with Che Guevara's image blended with blue Maritime Union of Australia flags, while elsewhere in the crowd were portraits of Mahatma Gandhi.

Ahead of the march police superintendant Paul Carey told The Australian that the Stop Bush Coalition leaders had promised a peaceful protest.

However intelligence suggested the violent groups would attempt to storm police lines by moving up George Street along the preferred route which was denied them by the courts.

Otherwise, he said, there was a chance that anarchists would attempt violent action in other parts of the city.

The security agencies' last resort weapon, a new shining black water cannon, was seen prowling the streets with its support group of 10 vehicles including several black SUVs manned by the riot squad, as well as paddy wagons and an ambulance.

The protesters assembled outside the Town Hall in preparation for the 10am start of the protest march appeared to be a mixture of young punkish protesters, a few hardened career demontrators, and middle-aged former Hippies.

One middle-aged lady held up a placard saying, "I can still protest, so here I am."

Some protesters used the gathering to sell a variety of left-wing and Green newspapers.

Not all the protesters were of one view.

A lonely pair, solicitor Robert Macaulay and insurance agent Doug Raines, stood on the opposite corner with placards saying, "Support free trade" and "Socialism sucks".

Both said they were protesting for the first time in their lives because they were so opposed to what the rest of the protesters stood for.

"We all enjoy the benefits of free trade. It's what makes us all affluent and rich, and these people want to ruin it and they are morons," Mr Macauley said.

But they were drowned out by protesters chanting, "George Bush, stop the war."

One protester's banner also targeted the NSW premier, saying "Put the water cannon to good use. Give Morris Iemma an enema."

There were scuffles with police as the march started to push towards George Street.

An attempt to clear the remaining demonstrators from Hyde Park late in the afternoon threatened to provoke violence when police advanced across the park, forcing back the media and remaining protestors before them.

The police quickly abandoned the attempt however, and retreated allowing the crowd to dissipate.

Later this afternoon, after the main protest had finished, at least two people on the police black list, Paddy Gibson and Dan Jones, were arrested and then released.

Mr Gibson -- who is banned from entering the APEC declared and restricted zones -- said police had pulled him out of Hyde Park and thrown him into a mass arrest bus.

"I was sitting in the park and saw Dan being led away by police and knew they had no right to detain him in an area that wasn't a declared zone," Mr Gibson said.

"I approached them to tell them we had done nothing wrong, a crowd formed around us, they said "get him too" to me, chased me, pushed my head into the concrete, violently arrested me and dragged me to the mass arrest bus."

Once inside the bus, Mr Gibson said the police realised they had no reason to hold the pair.

NSW Police refused to comment this afternoon on the arrests of Gibson and Jones.

"We pointed out we were not in the excluded zone and the police released us," Mr Gibson said. "They admitted they had no grounds on which to hold us."

Mr Gibson said the police had been "very provocative all day and were simply "trying to get the numbers of arrests up" by detaining him.

He said the peaceful protest was an enormous success and showed the security operation was unnecessary.

"It was an incredible demonstration of opposition to the military build-up and the wars that are occurring under this government," he said.