The peace activists and opponents of the security conference would also like to see a turning point, but one that is completely different than what the federal government and the Ministry of Defense imagine. In their protests against the Munich Security Conference, they are not demanding more money for armaments and readiness to fight, but rather a turn towards understanding and negotiations as a means of conflict resolution. “What we need is peace,” says Heinz Michael Vilsmeier from the Action Alliance. Especially in times of “escalation of the global political situation”. That’s why he and his colleagues will organize a large demonstration on February 17th, as they have done for many years, and later “surround” the conference venue, the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, with a human chain.
Last year the organizers counted around 6,000 participants, this time they expect there could be even more. The war in Ukraine and the war in Gaza concern people. “More support organizations have come forward. The warlike situation scares many people,” says co-organizer Vilsmeier. The day of protest on Saturday begins at 1 p.m. with a rally at Stachus. At 2 p.m. the demonstrators marched in two groups to encircle the security conference. One part runs directly over the pedestrian zone to Marienplatz, the other over Maximiliansplatz and Odeonsplatz as well as Residenzstrasse and Dienerstrasse. The final rally is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m.
In addition to the resistance against the Siko on the streets under the motto “War mongers not wanted”, this year’s Munich Peace Conference also wants to form a counterpoint to the meeting of the powerful. Both events run from February 16th to 18th. The peace conference starts on Friday evening with a focus on Europe in the Freedom Hall. Workshops will follow on Saturday from 10 a.m. in the University of Philosophy, discussing, for example, conscientious objection in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia as well as the demarcation of the peace movement against right-wing extremism. On Sunday from 6 p.m., also at the university, the theologian Boniface Mabanza Bambu will speak on perspectives and problems of the Global South and the former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis will speak on a possible reorganization of the world outside of the existing structures.
The organizer of the peace conference, Maria Feckl, called on the city to further promote the counter-event to the Siko. The coalition of the Greens and the SPD recently unexpectedly stopped supporting it with immediate effect. Officially, the reasons cited were austerity and the lack of local connection, but it is also said to be primarily about speakers like Varoufakis and the Irish MEP Clare Daly. The city apparently fears that its logo will promote one-sided speeches critical of Israel or pro-Putin or radical viewpoints that it does not share. Green-red representatives therefore spoke of “irritations”.