You have sparked a new debate about arms deliveries to Ukraine: 28 celebrities warn Chancellor Olaf Scholz (63, SPD) against sending heavy equipment to the war zone!
Among the celebrities: women’s rights activist Alice Schwarzer (79), actor Lars Eidinger (46), writer Juli Zeh (47). Their reasoning included: The delivery of tanks etc. would only prolong the war.
In the BILD talk “The Right Questions” (always on Sunday evenings on BILD on TV), Schwarzer repeated her controversial thesis: “We have had peace so far. In any case, now we have the very real threat of nuclear war. We have to weigh that up very carefully!”
The head of the Europe Committee in the Bundestag, Anton Hofreiter (52, Greens), bursts at the collar: “Who had peace? In the Ukrainian regions, people did not have peace.”
And: “It’s about time that we shed our arrogance, our hubris and believe the people who are directly affected.”
Schwarzer replies indignantly: “It’s not okay for you to act as a lawyer for all victims!”
But Hofreiter doesn’t accept that: “As far as I know, the Ukrainians have offered Putin very far-reaching compromises. Only Putin has not accepted a single compromise. He demands the complete destruction of Ukraine, the complete surrender.”
Then the escalation!
Schwarzer snaps at Hofreiter: “I would like to draw your attention to the fact that negotiations are actually taking place between Russia and the USA!”
Hofreiter: “What you are saying here is 1 to 1 Russian propaganda!”
The tough talk of the year – now the poison darts are flying! When Schwarzer is asked what she would say to victims of rape by Russian soldiers, she shoots Hofreiter head-on: “There you see me in the front line! I’m all for stopping it. And that is the difference between us, Herr Hofreiter!”
The Green politician was stunned: “To be honest, that’s already bold.
The singer-songwriter Reinhard Mey is one of the signers of the campaignPhoto: picture alliance / dpa
That’s what the EMMA campaign is about
Alice Schwarzer published her magazine “EMMA” with the title: “Peace now! heroes? No thanks!”
She called for “a NATO-free Ukraine and a special status for the Donbas”. Schwarzer was worried about the current situation: “It’s also pulling Russia into the abyss. And it threatens the West. There is only one way: negotiate. Now!”
Finally, the signatures of the 28 celebrities were collected – until publication on Friday.
“Without guns, more people suffer”
The call by 28 German celebrities against arms deliveries causes complete incomprehension among Ukrainians!
Weslana (33) had to flee Mariupol with her three children, her house has been destroyed, her husband Wadim (34) has been holding out for weeks in the besieged Azov steelworks.
BILD reporter Filipp Piatov with Weslana from MariupolPhoto: Lars Berg
“We need weapons to defend our borders and free the soldiers, wounded and civilians from the Azov Steelworks!” Weslana said. Without help for Ukraine, Putin’s “bloody hands would soon reach Europe. And then not only Ukrainians will suffer, but even more countries and people.”
Chancellor Scholz (63, SPD) also rejected the celebrity appeal: “Out of date.” It must seem “cynical” to the Ukrainians if they are told to defend themselves against Putin’s army without weapons.