“Ukraine has a right to defend its independence, its freedom and also its democracy,” Esken told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” (Saturday edition). It is therefore right that Germany, together with its partners in the EU and NATO, is supporting the country.
“It may not be easy to combine this with a message of peace,” said the SPD federal chairman. “But it’s clearly about restoring peace and order in Europe.”
The first Easter marches took place on Thursday and Friday, including in Freiburg and Erfurt and at the Jagel Air Force Base in Schleswig-Holstein. The organizers, who are members of the Peace Cooperation Network, then spoke of a successful start. “The demand for peace in Ukraine, disarmament and the abolition of nuclear weapons were key demands,” said their spokesman Kristian Golla in Bonn on Friday.
According to the organizers, the traditional highlight of the Easter March weekend will follow on Saturday. This year, around 70 of the around one hundred events will take place on this day, some of which are bike tours or hikes. These include a number of larger central Easter marches – for example in Berlin, Munich, Leipzig, Stuttgart, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Hanover, Bremen, Kiel and Rostock.
The demands for a ceasefire in Ukraine and the start of peace negotiations will also be at the center of the marches in many places on Saturday. There is also a lot of criticism of German arms deliveries. A special challenge for the organizers this year is the differentiation from right-wing and pro-Russian groups.
Esken told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” that she used to take part in the Easter marches regularly. “The longing for a peaceful world unites us all and also unites the people who come together there.” With the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, however, the message is becoming more complicated. “Putin’s aggression must not succeed, because that would provoke imitation and have fatal consequences for our future,” she warned.
Left Federal leader Martin Schirdewan expected an increased number of participants in this year’s Easter marches. In the “Rheinische Post” on Saturday, he referred to the announcement by Russia that it would station nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus. “That fuels fears of a nuclear escalation,” said Schirdewan. The Easter marches are traditionally strongly focused on the topic of nuclear disarmament.
