Helga Zepp-LaRouche Addresses High-Level Peace Conference in Berlin on the Path Forward
March 30, 2023, 2022 (EIRNS)—On March 27, a conference took place in Berlin, “Dialogue Instead of Weapons—Nonpartisan Action against the War.” It was organized by the East German Advisory Board of Associations (OKV), founded in 1994.
The initial impetus to hold the conference came on Jan. 30 via two open letters to the Russian Embassy in Berlin by former officers in the G.D.R. National People’s Army, Maj. Gen. Sebald Daum (ret.) and Lt. Gen. Manfred Grätz (ret.), who on Jan. 31 urged for like-minded associates to become active and to publicly counter the campaign to hold Russia entirely responsible for the war in Ukraine. Their open letters and call created a lot of support and interest not only in Germany, but also among retired military in France.
The meeting was convened to help create a new peace movement across party affiliations and ideological differences. The organizers stressed that it is not enough to call for “peace,” but to demand “peace with Russia,” which means “ending the U.S./NATO war in Ukraine and its potential enlargement to the rest of Europe, but also to stop the deindustrialization of Germany by the U.S.”
While the nationwide transport strike that day and illness among some key speakers prevented quite a few from attending, nevertheless there were some 100 participants. In the end, those participating accepted a joint resolution for “Dialogue Instead of Weapons—Peace with Russia.”
Among the key speakers were: Chairman of the German Peace Council, Gerhard Fuchs-Kittkowski; peace activist, physics Prof. Joachim Wernicke; writer, and famous former G.D.R. spy in NATO headquarters Rainer Rupp; economist, research fellow WeltTrends—Potsdamer Wissenschaftsverlag, former NVA Col. Prof. Wilfried Schreiber (ret.); author, former Bundeswehr officer, Wolfgang Effenberger. Helga Zepp-LaRouche, who was presented as chairwoman of the Civil Rights Movement Solidarity party (BüSo), keynoted the second part of the program, speaking on “Peace with Russia—For a New Global Security and Development Architecture.” Quite a few people appreciated getting to know her personally at this occasion, and some were happy to correct slander-based assumptions.
The proceedings, including submitted speeches and background material, are being publicized now by the OKV organizers. RT.de covered wrote a detailed summary of the event; Chinese TV attended.
The conference resolution, “Dialogue Instead of Weapons—Peace with Russia,” is as follows:
We, the participants of our forum today, call upon all peace-loving people to join our protest against war and for a just peace.
In the great danger in which our peoples currently find themselves, we no longer have time to argue about party political differences and different socio-political orientations. Instead, we must focus on what unites us!
The future of our children and grandchildren and the preservation of human life on our Earth require that Germany and its economy do not fall victim to a policy of Western “rules-based order” that wants to “destroy” Russia and is preparing for war against China.
The U.S. and NATO are standing with their military might on Russia’s borders, arming Taiwan against China, and thus threatening the security of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China.
This policy is accompanied by economic, financial and media wars, sanctions in violation of international law, and misinformation, combined with dismantling of democracy and freedom of expression.
Double standards characterize the “rules-based world order” of the West. In truth, it is an imperial war policy under the leadership of the U.S.A. For this, the people pay a toll in blood and lose their hard-won social achievements. Since 1999, when the war of aggression against the rest of Yugoslavia was launched in violation of international law, the U.S.A. has mandated its own war operations in accordance with its so-called “rules-based international order.”
The war in Ukraine, planned for the long term and started in 2014 at the latest, is also before our eyes on a daily basis.
Germany, as a warring party, is contributing to the further escalation of this war with arms deliveries, money and military training on the front line. It is arming, making the population ready for war and persecuting peace activists. It is fomenting hostility against Russia with hatred and incitement. The government violates its oath of office [Article 56 of the Basic Law ... dedicated to the welfare of the German people ... to avert it from coming to harm] and violates the most important obligation of the Basic Law: the peace commandment [Article 26GG]. This policy leads to a world war, which will know no winners.
Therefore
• we raise our voice to stop the war spiral,
• we protest against the German support for the prolongation of the war
• and demand an end to this course of war through a just peace that guarantees Russia’s security and a peaceful anti-fascist Ukraine without NATO.
Let’s not wait until it is too late again!
We see our event as a further voice for peace, so that it becomes stronger and gains broad power.
Berlin, March 27, 2023
