Taurus delivery: With this decision, the German government could drag Germany and Europe into a war with Russia. Can those who do not want war still stop it? Let's think about it and talk!

• Wolfgang Lieberknecht

  

Will missiles soon be striking from Russia? The risk is increasing every day. If Ukraine strikes Russian territory with German Taurus cruise missiles, that could be the end. Since the German government is no longer talking about whether it will deliver or has delivered, Russia can expect a Taurus attack at any time, even on the Kremlin, which would be almost impossible to defend against. Possible counterstrikes or even preventive attacks are therefore being discussed in Russia. Ukraine has apparently already fired on a helicopter in which Putin was sitting or in which the Ukrainian government believed President Putin to be.

We recommend these activities if you are also against the war spreading to Germany and want to actively help prevent this from happening.

1. The BSW (Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht) proposes a referendum on Ukraine policy. A good idea, but only sensible under two conditions:

   
   

   a) Referendums are possible under the Basic Law:Art 20 GG - Individual norm - Laws on the Internet  "(1) The Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state. (2) All state authority is derived from the people. It is exercised by the people through elections and referendums and through special bodies of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary." However, there is currently no implementing law for referendums on federal matters such as foreign policy.

   
   

   b) A majority of citizens seem to support the escalation of the federal government's policy in Ukraine. At least, that is what Die Welt reports: internationale-friedensfabrik-wanfried.org/post/eine-mehrheit-der-deutschen-will-merz-in-den-krieg-folgen-oder-sieht-das-risiko-nicht-wie-bekommen.

   
   

   Only parliament can pass an implementing law (perhaps the Bundesrat is also required, which would need to be investigated). In any case, it would have to be decided by the politicians currently in office. Even if the BSW were to enter the Bundestag after a recount, a parliamentary majority in favour of a different Ukraine policy and a halt to Taurus deliveries is currently unlikely. Can we change this, even if there are no elections soon? On the one hand, parliamentarians are only bound by their conscience, not their voters. On the other hand, their voters and their parties may also support the government's escalation policy ‘to defeat Putin’.

   
   

   What can we do? A third of the population rejects the escalation policy, and in some constituencies, especially in the east, this is likely to be a majority. Many of them would have to change their political culture, from voters or observers to actively politically engaged citizens. Without many German citizens taking this step, we have no chance of stopping the possible, if not probable, path to the third war against Russia in 110 years.

   
   

   Central demonstrations may be useful. A former SPD member of parliament who opposed the then federal government's policy of stationing US missiles in Germany in the early 1990s was unable to achieve anything in parliament with three like-minded colleagues. He concluded that only if pressure is exerted on the respective MPs in their constituencies is there a chance of persuading them to vote differently. They want to be re-elected and not be isolated in their constituencies.

   
   

   To achieve this, we need a strong movement in the constituency. There are critics of the federal government's escalation policy in all parties, including the governing parties.

   
   

   We should therefore do the following in the constituency:

   
   

   a. create a cross-party alliance of all citizens who are against the expansion of the war. We should include everyone, regardless of which party they belong to.

   
   

   b. We should also leave aside differences of opinion on issues such as climate change or refugee policy and focus solely on the issue of ‘how to stop the war from spreading to Germany’.

   
   

   c. Activists should network and discuss ways in which they can keep themselves as well informed as possible about the situation in Ukraine and the steps taken by the government.

   
   

   d. They should find ways to pass on their own findings to citizens who have been less active or not active at all, for example through letters to the editor and posts in regional media or social networks, or by setting up their own groups or channels on social networks.

   
   

   e. Together, they should then plan and carry out high-profile campaigns.

   
   

   f. The discussion should be brought into the parties via party members and also into organisations such as churches and trade unions. There, efforts should be made to reach resolutions calling on the central levels of the organisations to reject the policy of escalation.

   
   

   g. Dialogue should then be sought with members of parliament from the constituency in the Bundestag. They can be found here: Deutscher Bundestag - Abgeordnete. You can also discuss with them the possibility of introducing an implementation law on the votes (see above) to enable the population to decide for itself on this existential question.

   h. It would be good if the group also discussed the planned production of war capabilities in addition to the rejection of the Taurus delivery and the range clearance, and perhaps also worked out joint positions on conscription or rearmament.

   
   

   i. It would also be good to work out possible steps ourselves, discuss them publicly and also discuss them with members of parliament.

   
   

   We will stay on the ball and would like to talk to those who like these ideas and want to implement them. We could then get to know each other and learn from each other via ZOOM or personal events here at the International Peace Factory.

   
   

Wolfgang Lieberknecht, International Peace Factory Wanfried (IFFW) internationale-friedensfabrik-wanfried.org

0176-43773328