Around 10,000 people, according to police, gathered in central Berlin on Saturday to call for negotiations with Moscow rather than delivering weapons to Ukraine, a year and a day after the Russian invasion.
Organized by far-left political figure Sahra Wagenknecht and feminist Alice Schwarzer, the rally, which has the slogan "rise up for peace", is extremely controversial, in particular because figures from the far-right party have joined this initiative.
Under the Brandenburg Gate, Wagenknecht and Schwarzer took the floor to call for "diplomacy rather than the delivery of arms" in front of an audience of demonstrators bundled up to defy the cold and the showers of melting snow.
Since February 10, Wagenknecht and Schwarzer have also launched an internet petition titled "Manifesto for Peace" which claims more than 645,000 signatures.
According to a spokesperson for the Berlin police, other demonstrations of the same movement have been announced, as well as counter-demonstrations. For fear of clashes, the police mobilized around 1,400 police officers.
Friday, one year to the day after the Russian offensive, numerous demonstrations against the war in Ukraine took place in Germany, including one also at the Brandenburg Gate which was illuminated in the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
25/02/2023 15:49:22 -- Berlin (AFP) © 2023 AFP
