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Open Letter in Germany To Replace Logic of War by Logic of Peace!

April 23, 2022 (EIRNS)—Academicians, artists, churchmen and journalists appealed to the German Chancellor not to deliver weapons to Ukraine and thereby prolong the war, but instead take the lead for an initiative to have a ceasefire and begin serious talks on a peace agreement. The letter warns in strong words against a bigger war, potentially a nuclear one, to grow out of a prolonged war in Ukraine.

Here are excerpts from the letter, published today in Berliner Zeitung. Signers include Hans-Christof Graf von Sponeck, former Assistant Secretary General of the UNO, and Dr. Antje Vollmer, former Vice President of the German Bundestag:

“Dear Chancellor Scholz,

“We are people of different backgrounds, political attitudes and positions towards the policies of NATO, Russia and the German government. We all deeply condemn this war of Russia in Ukraine, which cannot be justified by anything. We are united in warning against an uncontrollable expansion of the war with unforeseeable consequences for the entire world and in opposing a prolongation of the war and bloodshed with arms deliveries. By supplying weapons, Germany and other NATO countries have de facto made themselves a party to the war. And thus Ukraine has also become the battleground for the conflict between NATO and Russia over the security order in Europe, which has been escalating for years.

“This brutal war in the middle of Europe is being fought on the backs of the Ukrainian population. The economic war now unleashed is at the same time endangering supplies for the people of Russia and many poor countries around the world. Reports of war crimes are mounting. Even if they are difficult to verify under the prevailing conditions, it can be assumed that in this war, as in others before, atrocities are being committed and the brutality increases with its duration. All the more reason to end it quickly.

“The war carries the real danger of an expansion and uncontrollable military escalation—similar to that in the First World War. Red lines are drawn, which are then crossed by actors and hazards on both sides, and the spiral is once again one step further. If responsible people like you, dear Chancellor, do not stop this development, we will end up with another big war. Only this time with nuclear weapons, widespread devastation and the end of human civilization. Avoiding more and more casualties, destruction and further dangerous escalation must therefore have absolute priority.

“We therefore call on the German government, EU and NATO countries to stop supplying arms to Ukrainian troops and to encourage the government in Kyiv to end military resistance—in exchange for assurances of negotiations on a ceasefire and a political solution.

“Negotiations on the rapid withdrawal of Russian troops and the restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity should be supported by NATO countries’ own proposals regarding legitimate security interests of Russia and its neighbors.

“In order to stop further massive destruction of the cities as quickly as possible and to accelerate ceasefire negotiations, the federal government should suggest that the cities currently under siege, most at risk and so far largely undestroyed, such as Kyiv, Kharkiv and Odesa, become ‘undefended cities,’ under the First Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention of 1949. Thanks to the concept already defined in the Hague Convention on Land Warfare, numerous cities were able to prevent their devastation during the Second World War.

“The prevailing logic of war must be replaced by a bold logic of peace, and a new European and global architecture of peace must be created, including Russia and China. Our country must not stand on the sidelines here, but take an active role.”

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