Black Shamrocks arrive at Leipzig-Halle

international | anti-war / imperialism | news report

Wednesday April 11, 2007 15:17

by Coilín ÓhAiseadha

aatchoo at gmail dot com

086 060 3818

Easter demo against militarism in the former GDR

In Leipzig over the Easter weekend, Irish activists participated in an international discussion of tactics for the anti-war movement, in the formulation of a declaration demanding an end to the ongoing militarisation of Leipzig-Halle airport, and in a protest march from the nearby town of Schkeuditz to the airport. We also distributed a few hundred black shamrocks, which were very well received.

Markus affixes black shamrock beside German ploughshares badge

Having made contact with some of the anti-war activists from the area of Leipzig, who attended our conference at the University of Limerick last November - http://www.indymedia.ie/article/79640 - Conor Cregan and I were invited to hold workshops under the theme of militarism at the BUKO.

The BUKO is an annual event, originating as a congress of development and solidarity groups and individuals and this year celebrating its 30th anniversary. Read more here: http://wiki.dissentnetwork.org/wiki/BUKO30

The German activists were very keen to hear about the different kinds of actions that had been tried out at Shannon over the last few years, and several saluted the decommissioning actions of Mary Kelly and the Pitstop Ploughshares.

We participated in the formulation and delivery of a "Schkeuditz declaration", in which we jointly deplored the recent and ongoing militarisation of Leipzig-Halle airport. World Airways has been transporting American troops to Iraq and Afghanistan via Leipzig-Halle since the airline withdrew from Shannon on 1 July 2006, and there are plans to extend the airport to facilitate the maintenance of an increasing number of Antonov cargo planes.

Read an English translation of the Schkeuditz declaration here: http://www.blackshamrock.org/article/162#comment116

** Broad-based movement, diverse tactics

I counted more than a hundred demonstrators on the seven-kilometre march from Schkeuditz to the airport, including members of a range of local peace groups, plus members of Attac and participants at the BUKO. Speakers at the airport included socialist MEP Tobias Pfluger and evangelical pastor Christian Fuhrer, who pointed out that business leaders facilitating the transport of troops and military cargo through the airport are complicit in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Tobias Pflüger is an MEP with the Party of Democratic Socialism. The Left Party.PDS (In German: Die Linkspartei.PDS), formerly Party of Democratic Socialism (Partei des Demokratischen Sozialismus, PDS) is the legal successor to the Socialist Unity Party (SED), which ruled the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) until 1990.

Christian Fuhrer played a leading role in the peaceful reform movement that led to the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany:
http://www.allhallowsleeds.org.uk/worship/sermons/Trish...shtml

Fuhrer has been involved in the campaign to prevent the militarisation of Leipzig-Halle airport since July last year, holding prayers for peace and giving local activists permission to hang a big banner on his church of St. Nicholas in the centre of Leipzig. Note that this is the same church that, under Fuhrer’s leadership, became a major centre of protest in the months up to the fall of the Berlin wall.

"Nein zum Kriegsflughafen!" ("No to the warport!") was the slogan on the banner that hung on the church last summer until it was stolen under mysterious circumstances one night: http://www.flughafen-natofrei.de/index.php?What=Aktionen
With Fuhrer's permission, local peace activists have plans for further events at the church in coming months - including banners secured against interference.

Other protests on Sunday included a balloon action. While speeches were in progress at the airport, activists released hundreds of black balloons, prepared overnight at another nearby town, to obstruct flights.

For more photos, reportage in German and links, please see:
http://www.nachtflugverbot-leipzig.de/fotos_ostermarsch...7.htm

See also the Black Shamrock site for another report:
http://www.blackshamrock.org/article/162