Drop the Charges Against War Critic Heinrich Bücker!

PETITION TO THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY:

A prominent antiwar activist in Berlin has come under attack by the German government for his criticism of Germany’s role in the war in Ukraine.

Heinrich Bücker is the founder and operator of Berlin’s Coop Antiwar Cafe, a popular gathering place for leftist activists in the city. He also is a member of the board of directors of the German Peace Council; the Association of Anti-Fascists; the Berlin chapter of World Beyond War; and the advisory board of the Odessa Solidarity Campaign, among many other organizations.

His offense? He publicly asked why Germany is supporting neo-Nazi organizations in Ukraine.

Bücker raised that question at a ceremony at the Soviet War Memorial in Berlin’s Treptow Park on June 22, 2022, an event that marked the 81st anniversary of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union,

Bücker reports that,

“According to a letter from the Berlin State Criminal Police Office dated October 19, 2022, a Berlin lawyer has accused me of having committed a crime. One refers to the § 140 StGB ‘Reward and approval of criminal offenses.’ This can be punished with imprisonment for up to three years or with a fine.”

In addition to Bücker’s Berlin speech, the Coop Anti-War Cafe has initiated a statement blaming the U.S. and NATO for provoking Russia into this war and has supported a similar statement initiated by the Odessa Solidarity Committee. Both statements have been endorsed by hundreds of organizations and individuals in nearly two dozen countries. (See http://coopcafeberlin.de and https://odessasolidaritycampaign.org)

So far, Bücker has been hit with a 2,000 euro fine (a little more than 2,100 U.S. dollars), which he is appealing, but a prison sentence of up to three years is still possible.

Heinrich Bücker isn’t the only one pointing out the existence of neo-Nazi organizations in Ukraine.  This is from The Christian Science Monitor, April 20, 2022:

“When Russian-speaking separatists in the eastern Donbas region of Ukraine raised a Russian-backed rebellion, the Kyiv government launched a war against them that continues to this day. Ultranationalist paramilitary units with neo-Nazi ties, such as the Azov, Aidar, and Dnipro-1 and -2 battalions, which were later incorporated into Ukraine’s National Guard, spearheaded that war.”

Here’s a headline from The Washington Post on April 6, 2022:

“Right-wing Azov Battalion emerges as a controversial defender of Ukraine.”

And a headline in the UK Independent of March 24, 2022, asks, “Who are Ukraine’s neo-Nazi Azov Battalion?”

Other reports and commentaries on neo-Nazis in Ukraine’s military have appeared in Reuters, CNN and other mainstream news outlets.

Bücker isn’t alone in being targeted by the German government.

“In Germany, we are currently experiencing a narrowing of the space for debate and massive restrictions on freedom of expression – caused by one-sided reporting in the mainstream-media,” Bücker writes. “There are now a number of individuals who are in the focus of the German criminal investigation authorities. Similar tendencies are also reported from other EU countries.”

In the United States, on July 29, 2022, the FBI raided the Florida and Missouri offices of the African People’s Socialist Party and its related Uhuru Movement. In St. Louis, they broke into the home of APSP Chairman Omali Yeshitela and his wife, Deputy Chair Ona Zené Yeshitela.

The raid was reminiscent of police attacks on the Black Panther Party. At the Yeshitela’s residence, the feds came at 5 a.m. and used a drone and flash-bang grenades to force their way in, after which they handcuffed the couple and moved them outside. Omali Yeshitela is 81 years old.

The APSP, a Pan-African organization that has opposed U.S. foreign policy for more than 50 years, has been outspoken against U.S. support for Ukraine in its war with Russia. The FBI raids apparently were to search for any evidence linking the APSP to the Russian government.

It’s more than ironic that the U.S., Germany and other NATO governments are cracking down on dissent at home at the same time they claim to be supporting democracy abroad. This increasing political repression, along with support for fascists in Ukraine, is moving these counties more and more to the right as the global economic situation gets more and more serious – a dangerous combination.

Therefore we, the undersigned, call on the government of the Federal Republic of Germany to:

• Immediately drop all charges against Heinrich Bücker!
• Stop all political repression against critics of Germany’s role in Ukraine!
• End all German support for neo-Nazis in Ukraine!
• End all German, U.S. and NATO support for Ukraine’s war effort!
• No to NATO!
• Money for Jobs & Education, not for War!

This Statement was initiated by the Coop Antiwar Cafe of Berlin, Germany, &
the Odessa Solidarity Campaign, based in Richmond, Virginia, USA, &
is being supported by the U.S. organization United National Antiwar Coalition.