World Peace Day, 1 September 2021, Berlin, Unter den Linden
in front of the Consulate of the Russian Federation
Rally of the Peace Coordination Berlin: Learning from history: disarm instead of rearm. Understanding instead of confrontation
Speech by Lühr Henken, Federal Committee Peace Council, Berlin Peace Coordination
Dear opponents of war, dear friends of peace,
Although we are standing here in front of the Russian embassy, I would like to say something first about the NATO war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of NATO troops.
war in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of the Bundeswehr and NATO. Let us be clear: the world’s largest military pact has lost the war in the Hindu Kush and had to withdraw from and had to withdraw from Afghanistan under chaotic conditions. Within two decades, the NATO countries failed within two decades to build up a functioning state there that would act in the Western interests. The policy of military interventionism has failed, as has that of regime change through war.
The damage caused by the war is enormous.
hundreds of thousands of deaths, over six million people have had to flee abroad, mainly to Pakistan.
mainly to Pakistan and Iran. The arms manufacturers of the
of the NATO countries have earned golden noses from the war. Civilian reconstruction is weak: the illiteracy rate in Afghanistan is two-thirds, and currently almost half of the 40 million million inhabitants are dependent on humanitarian aid, and the World Food Programme is sounding the alarm: the lives of a third of the population are threatened by “great hunger”.
In the face of these terrible results, those who continue to support the policy of military interventionism and foreign deployments of the Bundeswehr should be voted out of office. Foreign military
does not lead to peace, but promotes war. There must be an end to
foreign deployments and preparations for war. First and foremost, the Bundeswehr should be withdrawn from from Mali, because the military training provided by the Bundeswehr is as ineffective there as it was in as it is in Afghanistan. The war there is becoming more intense and is affecting more and more states in the region.
in the region. Bring back the Bundeswehr!
However, politicians in this country are not swayed in their rearmament mania by the devastation wrought by NATO.
A few examples from the last few days: Markus Söder:
As a result of the defeat in Afghanistan, Markus Söder demands that two per cent of the economic of economic output should be spent on the Bundeswehr and armed drones should be brought in. He would only accept a new government that also wants this. Armin Laschet wants the EU to develop the military
capability to militarily secure an airport like Kabul. Wolfgang
Ischinger, the head of the so-called Munich Security Conference, wants all of this too, plus but also to maintain the so-called nuclear sharing for Germany. The EU Foreign Affairs Commissioner, Josip Borell, wants a 50,000-man EU task force that can quickly intervene militarily.
They have learned nothing.
These are the most important points why we are standing here in front of the Russian embassy.
Because Russia has been the target of NATO’s rearmament measures and war manoeuvres since the right-wing coup in Ukraine in 2014, which resulted in Crimea becoming part of Russia
and parts of the Donbass can no longer be ruled by Kiev. NATO is calling on Russia to return Crimea to Ukraine and is supporting the Ukrainian government in government in sabotaging the Minsk Agreement to resolve the conflict over the Donbass.
The latest example of this was provided by the German Chancellor during her visit to Kiev ten days ago, when she explicitly supported the Ukrainian President Selensky in this, to reject talks with representatives of the breakaway Donbass republics. With this
position, the Minsk Agreement, as set out in UN Security Council Resolution 2202, is dead.
In 2015, the UN Security Council had decided that Ukraine would have to change its constitution to regulate the local self-government of the special territories of Donetsk and Lugansk special territories, explicitly stating that this had to be done with the consent of the representatives of these regions. But that is exactly what did not happen. The German government and Kiev are sabotaging the peace process and are continuing their
rearmament policy against Russia without restraint. They accuse Russia of Russia’s intentions to attack Ukraine and NATO territories, especially in the Baltic States.
Yet Russia is militarily on the defensive. Since 2015, Russia has reduced its military budget by 13 per cent. Last year, it stood at the equivalent of $60.6 billion, while at the same time NATO spending has reached $1,107 billion. That is 17 times what Russia spends. And with this Russia wants to attack NATO?
This is absurd. It is defending itself against NATO superiority. But, the NATO superiority is supposed to grow even more, the threatening backdrop even more threatening.
That’s why the rearmament programme since Wales 2014. That’s why the war manoeuvres near the border with Russia. The Bundeswehr has also been in rearmament mode since then and this year – Corona or no Corona – will reach the temporary peak of its military expenditure of 53 billion euros.
Temporarily, because for next year they are supposed to increase by 7.2 per cent to to 57 billion euros according to NATO criteria. This would be the eighth increase in a row. The goal of two per cent has not yet been reached. Kramp-Karrenbauer wants to achieve in 2031. Two per cent of the gross domestic product would then mean
90 billion euros for the Bundeswehr.
What is to be purchased with this money? In the coming legislative period, the decision decision will be made on the purchase of 45 fighter jets in the USA. They are to provide Germany with
nuclear sharing when the US nuclear-bomb-carrying TORNADOS reach their age limit in 2025. 30 of these 45 US fighter planes are intended to to carry these 20 nuclear bombs.15 fighter jets are to accompany them to take out Russian air defence positions.
The US nuclear bombs here at home will receive
new capabilities from 2024: They can be guided with great precision and used against underground command centres. Russia must feel particularly threatened by this.
We call on the future German government to renounce the nuclear bombers, to abandon the “nuclear sharing” and instead to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The coming legislative period will also see the decision on the arming of drones. In December, the SPD parliamentary group had rejected the arming of the five leased Heron TP from Israel. However, the drones are capable of being armed and will start flying next year, so the Bundestag must first vote on whether the drones should carry weapons. Drones are classic murder weapons. US practice in Afghanistan shows that nine out of ten drone deaths are bystanders. We do not want armed drones!
The Grand Coalition has agreed to the production of 21 Eurodrones, but at the insistence of the SPD without weapons. Even without weapons, the Eurodrones are bad enough. They spy
on foreign countries, find out where their strategic centres are and determine targets for attack.
The next legislative period will see the decision on whether the Eurodrones should carry weapons. Anti-tank guided missiles against moving targets are envisaged, and a 500-pound bomb. Their armament would then be the icing on the cake for an offensive weapon. From The stationing of Eurodrones in Jagel/Schleswig-Holstein is planned for 2029. But anyone who
who thinks that’s the end of the armament is mistaken.
All these projects will be surpassed by the mega-scandal FCAS. The abbreviation FCAS stands for Future Combat Air System. In other words: the air combat system of the future. Its development
costs alone are estimated at 100 billion, sales are expected to bring in 500 billion. The project will thus be five times larger than NATO Europe’s largest to date, the Eurofighter.
What is FCAS? From 2040, stealth bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons, accompanied by swarms of drones that can also fly kamikaze attacks. The Eurodrones will also be integrated, and everything will be linked with artificial intelligence in such a way
connected in such a way that not only the air force but also satellites, army and naval Navy units will be linked in real time. The FCAS manufacturers Airbus and Dassault speak of the system of systems. The goal of the operating governments France and Spain is to become an EU superpower militarily independent of the USA. There is no other way to explain the common
air force chiefs of these three countries. According to this, FCAS “should have outstanding capabilities in all categories of air combat, thereby enhancing the air superiority of our
air forces and thereby ensure the necessary freedom of movement for the other
1 This project is directed against Russia and China.
FCAS is still at the beginning of its development. In the coming legislative period, the decision will be made in the coming legislative period as to whether an airworthy new fighter bomber will be built.
We should do everything to end this madness as early as possible.
We do not need more confrontation on our globe, but rather more cooperation. The problems on earth are so gigantic that the money obviously available for this mega-armament project
would be much better spent on civilian projects of the century:
The end of hunger, the elimination of the causes of flight, the reduction of social inequality and the prevention of climate catastrophe.
It is essential to prevent the money bags of the shareholders of armament corporations from being further filled
and that the destruction of life through war is prepared. FCAS must not be be realised. Disarmament is the order of the day!
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
