Easter marches for "peace between Kyiv and Moscow" and against weapons for Ukraine held in Germany
Traditional Easter marches demanding peace talks between Ukraine and Russia were held in several German cities on 8 April.
Source: Tagesschau, as reported by European Pravda
Details: Thousands of people marched across the country demanding peace between Moscow and Kyiv, an end to weapons aid to Ukraine, and an end to the German military build-up.
Perhaps the largest Easter march, attended by up to 2,000 peace activists, has occurred in Berlin. The organisers issued a warning about the escalation of the war in Ukraine. They said Germany is partly to blame for this because of the supply of weapons to Ukraine, "constant rhetoric of war and incitement of enemy images". The banners and posters read "Peace, warmth, bread instead of weapons, war and death" and "NATO is the aggressor, peace with Russia".
Margot Kessmann, former Head of the Evangelical Church of Germany, also considers military support for Ukraine to be the main obstacle to peace. She called for an immediate halt to arms supplies at a rally in the city of Hanover in front of about 1,100 demonstrators. "We don't want the escalation to carry on and more weapons to be delivered to the war zone," said the former evangelical bishop of the land. As she said, the West is making itself "responsible for all the killed" through its military support for Kyiv.
Left co-leader Martin Shirdevan called for precise positioning of the peace movement overall, despite the controversial debate over the conflict. This means "international solidarity" with Ukraine, which has been attacked in violation of international law, and "a clear condemnation of Russia's war of aggression," Shirdevan said. At the same time, the left-wing politician criticised the federal government's "unilateral focus" on arms supplies and training for Ukrainian soldiers.
Peace activists took to the streets in other cities as well, as according to police, about 1,000 people marched from the Peace Tunnel to the market square in the city of Bremen at the call of the Bremen Peace Forum. According to the Leipzig Anti-War Forum, 300 people participated in the Easter march in the centre of Leipzig. Several hundred people also took to the streets of Munich, Cologne and Mainz. The three-day Rhineland-Ruhr Easter March, which will pass through numerous regional cities until Easter Monday, began with a rally in Duisburg. It is one of the most significant and critical nationwide events of the peace movement for Easter.
At the same time, Torsten Fry, the parliamentary secretary of the opposition Christian Democratic Union faction, criticised the Easter marches of the peace movement. "There is at least something naive about this year's Easter marches. They talk about peace while they are free," the politician said.
Quote: "As long as there are people like Putin who rely on the rule of strength rather than the rule of law, we must be prepared to defend our free democracy," he said.
Background: At the end of February, thousands of people joined the demonstration "for peace" against the support of Ukraine with weapons, bringing flowers to the destroyed Russian tank displayed in front of the Russian Embassy. More minor actions were held in other cities as well.
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