“Manifesto for Peace”
Wagenknecht and Schwarzer warn of slide in nuclear war
Sahra Wagenknecht (Die Linke, l), politician, and Alice Schwarzer, women’s rights activist, are standing in the Rheinauhafen on the Rhine. photo
© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa
Alice Schwarzer had already written an open letter to the chancellor in 2022. Now, together with the left-wing politician Wagenknecht, she is renewing her call for peace solutions.
Left-wing politician Sahra Wagenknecht and women’s rights activist Alice Schwarzer have called on Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) to focus on negotiations instead of arms deliveries in the Ukraine war.
In a joint “Manifesto for Peace” on Friday, the two women warned of a “slip slide towards world war and nuclear war”. At the latest when the Ukrainian armed forces should attack Crimea, Russian President Vladimir Putin will “launch a maximum counterattack”. The Black Sea peninsula of Crimea has been illegally annexed by Russia.
The manifesto is supported by 69 first signatories, including the theologian Margot Käßmann, the singer Reinhard Mey and the former EU Commissioner Günter Verheugen.
Schwarzer and Wagenknecht emphasized: “The Ukrainian population, brutally attacked by Russia, needs our solidarity.” In their eyes, however, this is not an ever-longer prolongation of the war, which will ultimately turn Ukraine into a depopulated, destroyed country.
No victory “all along the line” possible
Schwarzer and Wagenknecht criticized the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj. “President Zelenskyy makes no secret of his goal,” they wrote. “After the promised tanks, he is now also demanding fighter jets, long-range missiles and warships – to defeat Russia across the board?” Supported by the West, Ukraine could win individual battles. “But it cannot win a war against the world’s largest nuclear power.”
Chancellor Scholz swore when he took office to avert damage from the German people. “We call on the Chancellor to stop the escalation in arms deliveries. Now! He should lead a strong alliance for a ceasefire and peace negotiations at both German and European level.”
In April last year, Schwarzer had already initiated an open letter that appealed to Scholz not to deliver heavy weapons to Ukraine. According to her, this letter has now been signed by more than 500,000 people.
In a counter-appeal, intellectuals called for a continuous supply of arms to Ukraine. “In the hands of those attacked, tanks and howitzers are also defensive weapons because they are used for self-defense,” said the letter, which was signed by former Green Party politician Ralf Fücks, writer Daniel Kehlmann and publisher Mathias Döpfner, among others . It also said that anyone who wants a negotiated peace that does not result in the submission of Ukraine must strengthen its defense capabilities. Preventing a successful Russian attack is in Germany’s interest.