Press release by German anti-war organisations.

Down With Weapons!!! Cooperation Instead of NATO Confrontation, Disarmament Instead of Welfare Cuts – Nationwide Demonstration in Berlin / October 8th, 2016

The current wars and military standoff against Russia propel us into the streets.

Almost anywhere in the world, one can find Germany at war. Moreover, the federal government has a policy to drastically increase military spending. German companies export weapons all over the world. The business of death is booming.

We resist this policy. The people in our country do not want war and armaments – they want peace.

Politicians must take this into account. We do not accept that war is becoming increasingly common, and that Germany is contributing to this: in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Mali. The war in Ukraine has not stopped. It always comes down to power, markets and raw materials, and the US, NATO member states and their allies are always involved, with the Federal Republic usually not too far behind.

War is Terror. It causes millions of deaths, mass destruction and chaos. Millions more have to flee. The fleeing survivors need our support and protection against racist and nationalist assaults. We defend the human right of asylum. So that people do not have to flee, we call on the federal government to cease all military interventions in crisis areas.

The federal government must contribute to political solutions, promote civil conflict resolution, and provide economic aid to rebuild these devastated countries.

People need justice worldwide. We therefore reject neoliberal FTAs such as TTIP, CETA, ecological exploitation, and the destruction of peoples‘ livelihoods.

German arms only make conflict zones hotter. $ 4.66 billion are squandered daily for the arms trade worldwide. The federal government is planning to increase its annual military spending by 35 to 60 billion euros in the next eight years. Instead of upgrading the Bundeswehr for worldwide operations, we demand our tax dollars be used for social functions.

Since 1990, relations between Germany and Russia has never been so bad as today. NATO has revived her old enemy, and now it expands its political influence and its military apparatus by stationing fast response forces, military exercises, and the so-called missile defense shield – accompanied by verbal threats and provocations – directly up to the borders of Russia. These actions illustrate the overt shattering of agreed-upon pledges concerning German unification, as Russia naturally responds with political and military countermeasures. This vicious circle must be broken. Finally, the modernization program to upgrade US nuclear weapons exponentially increases the danger of sparking a military confrontation, and even a nuclear war.

Security in Europe can only be achieved WITH, not AGAINST Russia.

We demand that the federal government initiates:

– the withdrawal of the Bundeswehr from all foreign missions,
– the drastic reduction of defense budgets,
– the ending of arms exports,
– the outlawing of drone operations,
– the withdrawal of its participation in NATO maneuvers and troop deployments along the western border of Russia.

We say no to nuclear weapons, war and military intervention.We demand an end to the militarization of the EU. We want dialogue, global disarmament, peaceful civil conflict resolution, and a work-based compensation system of common security. This is the peace policy we stand for.

We call for a nationwide demonstration on 10/8/2016 centering in Berlin.