Hundreds of protesters jammed the streets of Downtown Berkeley yesterday, part of a nationwide protest against the war in Iraq on its five-year anniversary.

The participants, which included representatives from anti-war groups Code Pink, World Can't Wait and the ANSWER Coalition, marched through both Downtown and Southside Berkeley, blocking traffic while chanting anti-war slogans.

Fifty extra Berkeley police officers were on duty to manage the protests. Police said there were no arrests.

Many group members began their march at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Park where prominent anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan urged Berkeley High School students, many of whom attended the rally, to protest the government's involvement in the war.

She said she believes that college and high school students in Berkeley should be at the forefront of the anti-war movement.

"We all have a social responsibility to protest war, especially around UC Berkeley, where the Vietnam anti-war movement began," she said.

The group then marched to the nearby Marine Corps recruiting center where a number of police officers with riot gear prevented them from getting close to the center. In the past, protesters have chained themselves to the center's door.

According to Debra Sweet, the national director of World Can't Wait, the aim of the anniversary protest is to help intensify the movement to shut down the Marine recruiting center.

"It's now been five years. We need to make a political atmosphere that will coerce the Marines to leave," she said.

A small contingency of pro-military protesters were also at the center.

"This war has gone on for a long time, but I still support the Marine Corps' right to recruit kids and to get them away from the drug culture and to give them an education," said Thomas Burford, a Vietnam War veteran who was one of the pro-military protesters outside the recruiting center. "They should take their views to Congress, not the recruiting center."

After protesting at the center for under an hour, the group began marching around Southside Berkeley, where they impeded traffic at intersections including Telegraph Avenue and Bancroft Way.

Two police officers on motorcycles followed as the group marched through the streets. Police said they did not feel it was necessary to stop the protesters from marching in the street.

"We feel it is a beneficial situation to have them all in one place," said Berkeley police Sgt. Mary Kusmiss.

Many motorists honked at the demonstrators to voice their support for the protest or their frustration at the added traffic.

Armed with megaphones and speakers, the protesters chanted, "If you hate the war machine, you gotta break your routine."

Many pedestrians, such as Lani Allen, 59, a UC Berkeley student, broke their routines to voice their opinions.

"I think the war is five years too long. This protest is a romantic, emotional appeal, though I don't know if this protest will just preach to the choir," she said. "What will people sitting on the fence think?"

Others said they appreciated the atmosphere.

"This protest is the most excitement I have had all year," said Oakland resident Tim Carlon, 44, as he watched the group pass by. "We need more of this-people need to wake up."

Tags: PROTEST, IRAQ WAR. MARINE RECRUITING CENTER