VOICES OF DISSENT: For Iraqis, freedom to demonstrate in post-Saddam Iraq is a bittersweet victory. Iraqi protesters gathered outside the Palestine Hotel on Monday calling for a larger Iraqi role in Iraq's interim government and protesting what many feel is an American occupation. But in the former Ba'ath stronghold of Fallujah, some 50 kilometres west of Baghdad, 15 protesters were killed outside a school on Monday night when US forces opened fire during a demonstration, reacting to alleged gunfire from the crowds. The gruesome scene was repeated on Wednesday, when some 1,000 protesters responding to Monday's deaths gathered in front of US military headquarters. Two people were killed and 14 wounded in the incident, casting an ominous shadow on US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's surprise visit to Baghdad that day. photo: AP