Protesters to rain on Bush's parade

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Protesters will march through Washington, stage a "die in" across from the White House and turn their backs on President Bush's limousine during his inaugural celebration next week, organizers said yesterday.

As U.S. authorities prepared unprecedented security for the event next Thursday, organizers said thousands of protesters will stage a noisy counterpoint to the lavish $40 million celebration.

One group of anti-war activists said it would carry 1,000 coffins to the White House and stage a "die in" to protest the lives lost in Iraq.

Another group said it had obtained a permit to protest along a 200-foot section of the parade route but planned to sue for more access to the large sections of Pennsylvania Avenue set aside for Bush supporters.

"The Bush administration, in conjunction with the National Park Service, is trying to stage-manage democracy," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, an attorney for the anti-war group International ANSWER -- Act Now to Stop War & End Racism -- Coalition.

ANSWER is planning to erect its own bleachers in the space, an open plaza on Pennsylvania Avenue, just a few blocks from the Capitol, said Brian Becker, national coordinator for the group. The bleachers could seat up to 1,000 people, and the Park Service estimates up to 10,000 could fill the space standing shoulder to shoulder.

"I don't think it's ever happened in history that the anti-war movement has ever been able to have this kind of setup," Mr. Becker said.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Secret Service, which is overseeing security for the event, declined comment.

U.S. authorities plan to involve thousands of police, troops and bomb-sniffing dogs in the first inaugural event since the September 11, 2001, attacks. Spectators will pass through metal detectors before attending any inaugural events or watching the parade from the street.