SPACE WIRE
Anti-war graffiti daubed on British Council building in Portuguese city
LISBON (AFP) Apr 02, 2003
Unidentified vandals daubed anti-war graffiti on a building housing the British Council in Coimbra, central Portugal, Wednesday, possibly in reaction to the British participation in the war in Iraq, according to police cited by the Lusa press agency.

The front door of the British Council, a British cultural centre, was blocked with padlocks, and slogans against Britain's participation in the Iraqi conflict were sprawled across the building's facade.

In response to the vandalism, the British Council issued a press release calling to attention that it is an "organisation without political orientation," and that it does not wish to define itself through the "political orientation of the British government or any other government."

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