Coop Anti-War Cafe Berlin Statement on the War in Ukraine
By Coop Anti-War Cafe Berlin – Mar 6, 2022
We are now witnessing heavy military clashes between Russia and Ukraine. Moscow speaks of a “special operation” in Ukraine. Moscow’s declared main motive is the demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, its neutrality, and a guarantee that Ukraine will not join NATO. Moscow has explicitly and repeatedly stated that it is not fighting the civilian population of Ukraine. The West, on the other hand, speaks of a war of aggression by Russia against the people of Ukraine. Russian reporting is censored in many Western countries, and Russia in turn restricts Western broadcasters. Weapons from NATO countries continue to be delivered to Ukraine.
We are deeply concerned about the dramatic events in Ukraine and advocate a peaceful solution.
Our demands must be:
Cessation of hostilities as soon as possible!
NATO out of Ukraine!
No more arms deliveries to Ukraine!
No NATO membership of Ukraine!
After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Russia withdrew from all Warsaw Pact countries, while NATO pledged that it would not expand into Eastern Europe. This was also the basis of Russia’s agreement to the reunification of Germany, which Russia agreed to on precisely this condition. However, contrary to its promises, the West has continued to expand its influence to the East and more and more countries have been allowed to become NATO members. Major US and NATO maneuvers took place on Russia’s borders and almost all arms control treaties were canceled by the US.
Western networks orchestrated a coup in Kyiv in 2014, in which openly fascist groups took part. The Ukrainian coup government, dominated by right-wing extremists, harassed the Russian-speaking minorities by banning the Russian language, among other things. There were extremely violent attacks. This resulted in Crimea’s secession to Russia, legitimized by a referendum in Crimea in which a large majority voted to join the Russian Federation. As self-protection against Russophobia in Kyiv, the self-proclaimed People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk were also declared.
The inhabitants of the People’s Republics were declared terrorists by Kyiv and a war was started with massive artillery shelling by the Ukrainian army and right-wing volunteer brigades against the breakaway regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. To date, this has claimed over 14,000 lives, mostly among the Russian-speaking population of Donbass, especially at the height of the conflict before the Minsk 2 accords. Even after Minsk 2, the government of Ukraine, heavily armed by NATO, continued to wage war against the population of Donbass, which was tolerated by the guarantors of the accords Germany and France.
Moscow has now recognized the independence of the People’s Republics. This was done on the basis of a recommendation from the Russian parliament to President Putin. Before that, the government of Putin had repeatedly urged the fulfillment of the conditions of the Minsk 2 agreement, which is binding under international law since the end of 2015, and had repeatedly asked the government in Kyiv to make it clear that it does not want to join NATO. This was repeatedly rejected by both Kyiv and NATO.
Most recently, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, created further provocations when he even expressed his intention to make Ukraine a nuclear power, at the security conference in Munich in February. Massively intensified new attacks against the People’s Republics in the Donbass and preparations to conquer these areas further aggravated the situation.
Only after that Moscow started the military operation in Ukraine, after a long period of diplomatic initiatives by Russia to resolve the conflict in Ukraine and with the West, including insisting on the implementation of the Minsk 2 agreement. The agreement had obliged Ukraine, among other things, to enter into direct negotiations with the political leadership of the Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The hoped-for relaxation through the Minsk 2 agreement did not materialize from the start in 2015 because the Ukrainian leadership repeatedly broke the agreement, and NATO was not interested in a peaceful solution.
Russia’s offensive is said to have forestalled an imminent offensive by the Ukrainian army, according to Russian media reports.
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As a reaction from almost the entire West, we are now experiencing an extreme wave of punitive sanctions against Russia, as have been used so far against Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Yemen and other countries. This corresponds to warfare using economic power and is illegal. There have even been isolated calls for facilitating the recruitment of mercenaries in the fight against Putin, or for the Russian president to be assassinated.
Russia has proved that, together with China, it is ready to resolutely oppose the aggressive provocations of the West and especially NATO.
We deeply regret the situation in Ukraine, which is not in the interest of any party, and we particularly regret all the casualties and the situation of refugees in this war. The military conflicts must be ended as quickly as possible. Ukraine should serve as a bridge of communication between East and West and not as a frontline for geopolitical rivalries.
The EU, NATO and Russia must negotiate together and find a solution that takes into account the security interests of all countries. The security of one country must not come at the expense of the security of another country.
Ukraine must declare itself neutral!
Return to negotiations in the spirit of Minsk-2 Treaty!
Berlin, March 6, 2022
To sign this statement: email@hbuecker.net or fill out the formmailer here.
Signatures
Heinrich Bücker, Coop Anti-War Café Berlin
Ingrid Koschmieder, Friedensaktivistin, Freidenkermitglied, Berlin
Maren Cronsnest, Freie Journalistin, Anti-NATO-Gruppe Berlin-Brandenburg
Leonid Ilderkin, Coordinating Council, Union of Political Emigrants & Political Prisoners of Ukraine, Russia
Ray McGovern, Veterans For Peace, Eisenhower Chapter, USA
Elizabeth Murray, ehem. hochrangige US-Geheimdienst-Mitarbeiterin & Ex-CIA-Analystin, USA
Alfred L. Marder, President, US Peace Council, USA
Eugenia Amaguaña, Mujeres en Movimiento, Hamburg
Gordana Jovanovic, University Professor em., Belgrad, Serbien
Telma Rinkes, Künstlerin, Berlin
Wolfram Elsner, Professor, Bremen
Sandra Barczyk, Mitglied aufstehen-Basis, Stuttgart
Holger Raths, 1. EOS Ernst-Thälmann, Rostock – Lichtenhagen
Andreas Maluga, 1. Vorsitzender DDR-Kabinett-Bochum e.V.
Živadin Jovanović, Ex-Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Belgrade Serbia
Prof.Dr.sc. Horst Bischoff, Berlin,
Uta Mader, Linke Friedensbewegung, Bernau b. Berlin
Manuel Pardo, Military (Ret.), Madrid, Spain
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate, Northern Ireland
Union of Political Emigrants & Political Prisoners of Ukraine
Larissa Shessler, Chair, Union Political Emigrants & Political prisoners of Ukraine, Moskau
Dmitry Niconov, Council, Union Political Emigrants & Political Prisoners of Ukraine, Moskau
Klaus Helms, Rentner, Mitglied der Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), Schwerin/Meckl.
Frithjof Banisch, Oberst a.D., Dahme / Mark
Ralph Schöpke, Rentner, Hydrochemiker, PD Dr.rer.nat.habil, Cottbus
Diane Nahas, Port Washington, USA
Bruce K Gagnon, Anti-war activist, Bath, Maine, USA
Philip Janssen, Frente Unido América Latina Berlin
Lothar Häupl, Vorsitzender WIBP e.V., Dresden
Jesus Rodriguez-Espinoza, Editor at Orinoco Tribune, Caracas, Venezuela
Brigitte Tichauer, Rentnerin u. Antifaschistin, Berlin
Ortrud Staude, Musikerin, Bremen
Robert Tichauer, Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania, USA
Violetta Marx, Schwerin
Ludwig Bodemann, DKP-Berlin
Wilfried Elling, Walsrode
Klaus Becker, Evry-Courcouronnes, Frankreich
Konstantin Brandt, Buchhändler, Berlin
Irene Wagner, Berlin
CC.gambeex, cook filmmaker, Berlin
Arianna Carciofo, Berlin
Sara Flounders, Co-Director, International Action Center, New York City, USA
Bodo Quart, Berlin
Prof. Gregor Putensen, Hochschullehrer i. R., Greifswald
Axel Plasa, Journalist, Berlin
Anja Mewes, Vorsitzende des Vereins der Friedensglockengesellschaft Berlin e. V.
Achim Schuster, Sozialpädagoge, Hamburg
Joe Lombardo, Coordinator, United National Antiwar Coalition, USA
Renate Döhr, Irlandgruppe Omega, Berlin, Germany
Bahman Azad, Executive Secretary, U.S. Peace Council, New Jersey, USA
Mark Burton, Denver, Colorado, USA
Kathryn Fischer, Musician, Germany
Evelin Genzel, Aufstehen, Berlin
Achim Genzel, Berlin
Vivian Weinstein, Retired Nurse (R.N.), Denver, Colorado, USA
Joachim Bonatz, Vizepräsident des OKV e.V.
Alexander Mága, Kiel
Friederike Krahl, Berlin
Immanuel Ness, Professor, New York, USA
Gunter Emmaus, Vorsitzender ISOR e.V. TIG Neubrandenburg
Fritz Mergen, Berlin
Torsten Postrach, Oltn. a.D., Mitglied VTNVAGT
Dieter Becker, Bernau OT Schönow
Lothar Schlüter, ISOR e.V. / TIG-Vorsitzender, Berlin-Weissensee
Elli Lengl, Sozialpädagogin, Marburg
Cilly Silbermann, Ernst-Thälmann-Freundeskreis, Ziegenhals-Berlin, Hamburg
Hans Bauer, Berlin
Jürgen Willner, Bremen
Frank Daniel Dorrel, Publisher of ADDICTED To WAR, Culver City USA
Rainer Ziegler, Berlin
Regina Silbermann, Sprecherin LAG Deutsch-Russische Freundschaft Sachsen, Chemnitz
Horst Braun, Dipl.Wirtschaftler/ ISOR, Neubrandenburg
Reinhard u. Gertraude Frohberg, Geithain
Sybille Roggatz, Frankfurt/Oder
Marion Schwarz, Coswig/Anhalt
Gisbert Heilemann, Polizeioberrat a.D, Zühlsdorf
Daniel Rodríguez, Berlin
Wilfried Steinfath, Berlin
Uwe Johannßon, Rostock
Hans Sauer, Berlin
Anna Schmidt, Bielefeld
Eberhard Kögel, Augsburg
Fritz Heinecke, ISOR, Berlin
Karl Herbst, Wertingen
Dr. Andrej Reder, Berlin
Wolf Göhring, Bonn
Rainer Menschik, Berlin
Brigitte Queck, Mütter gegen den Krieg Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam
Joachim Gruber, Physiker, Ankershagen
Hartmut Haubold, Berlin
Ingeborg Ohlsen, Berlin
Ursula Mathern, Merxheim
Stephan Heine, Arbeiter, Berlin
Gerd Göhler, Hennickendorf
Jochen Knödler, Bad Kreuznach
Peter Elz, Königs Wusterhauen
Lukas Maria Oßwald, Kommunalpolitiker, Lahr/Schwarzwald
Lee Eunju, Seoul, South korea
Albrecht Ludloff, Berliner Friedensbewegung
Kirsten Hüttenrauch, Berlin
Dr. Joanna Dietzel, Ärztin, Berlin
Peter Rath-Sangkhakorn, Pädagogische Arbeitsstelle (pad), Bergkamen
Albrecht Geißler, Vorsitzender Revolutionärer Freundschaftsbund E. V., Chemnitz
Constanze Wolter, Berlin
Dietrich Antelmann, Diplomkameralist, Berlin
Bernd Thümer, Rentner, Werkzeugmacher, Frankenberg
Kay Hanisch, Sprecher Bürgerbewegung Neue Richtung, Döbeln
Helge Schmidt-Heß, Neubrandenburg
Reinhard Wilder, Schwerin
Helmut Ortgies, Groß Zimmern
Horst Remest, Friedensbündnis Neubrandenburg
Dr. Nancy Larenas Ojeda, Berlin, Frente Unido America Latina
Gottfried Altemüller, Rentner, Stadtführer, Hamburg
Ulrike Braun, Laufersweiler
Larry Swingle, Schönau, Germany
Wolfgang Dr. Petzold, Arzt, Rentner, Königs Wusterhausen
Rainer Hecht, Niederneisen
Marianne Steenken, Berlin
Peter Keibel, IG BAU Berlin
Ulrich Lenz, Kreistagsmitglied, Kreissprecher Die Linke Rhein-Lahn
Wolfgang Hey, Hannover
Brigitte und Gunther Teicke, ISOR Berlin
Christian Steinkopf, Strausberg
Rolf-Achim Georg, Dipl.Ing. Architekt, Berlin
Siegbert Grießer, Hausmann, Sangerhausen
Frank Rothämel, Zella-Mehlis
Uta Schumann, Designerin /Rentnerin /Omas gegen rechts, Erfurt
Ditmar Hanke, Diez
Wolfgang Carl, Berlin
Matthias Küchler, Arzt, Berlin
Dr.med. Joachim Elz-Fianda, DFG-VK/IPPNW/Ärztlicher Psychotherapeut, Nördlingen
Isabelle Casel, Die Linke, DFG-VK, PeaceLab Europe, WIIS, Bergisch Gladbach
Claudia Beyer, Projektverantwortlich, Erfurt
Valmore Suárez, Frente Unido América Latina, Berlin
Alexander Breitung, Sozialarbeiter, Strausberg
Rainer Fritsche, Berlin
Ingo Brehmer, Berlin,
Harff-Dieter Salm, Bad Camberg
Rüdiger Hecht, Berlin
Susanne Ute Breitenbach, Berlin
Heinz und Karin Schmidt, Schwerin
Annette Heide, Berlin
Knut Voigt, Berlin
Ronald Krauß, Schwarzenberg
Hans-Jörg Schraml, EVG, VVN/BdA, Berlin
Petra Scharrelmann, Lehrerin, Bremen
Walter Friedmann, Bühl
Gerhard Mertschenk, Berlin
Jürgen Stenker, Diplomkriminalist, Halle (Saale)
Harald Kallbach, Homburg/Saar
Jürgen Suttner, Siegen
Petra Rudolph, Aue-Bad Schlema
Dr. Christel Göpel, Dresden
Brigitte Gärtner-Coulibaly, Herford NRW
Nicole Finkernagel, Viersen
Ulrich Loschky, Elmstein
Jürgen Gramm, Sicherheitsingenieur in Rente, Rochlitz
Marie-Luise Schmidt-Hage, St.Jory-de-Chalais, Frankreich
Martin Schülke und Doris Schülke, Strausberg
Vinícius Melo, Brazil
Armin Bernhard, Mitglied “Deutsch-Russische Friedenstage e.V.”.
Gina Pietsch, Sängerin, Berlin
Marina Baum, Berlin
Georg Ehmke, Werder
Peter Rasch, Neusäß
Jürgen Weidner, Plauen
Arnd Kempe, Berlin
Ernst Hornig, Oberrat a.D., GRH, Berlin
Ute Hornig, Rentnerin, Friedenglockengesellschaft, Berlin
Stefan Irkens, Prüfingenieur, Hennef
Peter Theil, Panketal
Manfred Theil, Rentner Unterstützer der Bewegung Aufstehen, Berlin
Roland und Roswitha Winkler, Aue
Heinz Klein, Attac, Freidenker, Waldalgesheim
Daniel Palloks, Physiker, Berlin
Ilse Günther, Berlin
Eberhard Wetzig, Pirna
Dr.med. Michael Kärn, Arzt, Schwerin
Peter Kebsch, Lehrer, Grimma
Helga Dr. Lemme, Aufstehen /Kinderärztin, Leipzig
Karen Breuer, Berlin
Ulf Lehnert, Lehrte
Angelika Dörre, Neubrandenburg
Ria Kaiser, Crinitz
TM Rotschönberg, freischaffender Maler, Obergruna
Wolfgang Diertich, Strasburg (Um.)
Peter Krips, Fotograf, Perleberg
Jochen Scholz, Oberstleutnant a. D., Berlin
Iris Becker, Sollstedt
Matthias Zöltsch, Augenoptiker, Heimsheim
Joachim Herzog, Schulzendorf
Karin Pflug, Quedlinburg
Burkhard Pflug, Quedlinburg
Torsten Trentzsch, RFB, Meißen
Featured image: Solidarity protests.
