Appeal for a different policy towards Russia

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An appeal for a different policy towards Russia was launched in early December 2014 under the title War in Europe Again? Not in our name! released; The appeal is addressed to the members of the German Bundestag and calls on them to seek compromise and dialogue with Russia in the context of the war in Ukraine in 2014. The content of the appeal of December 5, 2014, signed by over 60 personalities from politics, business, science and culture, was criticized because it was uncritical of Russia's military operations in Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea . He triggered a countercall.

The appeal of December 5th

Initiators

The initiators of the call were Antje Vollmer , Horst Teltschik and Walther Stützle . Teltschik explained that the aim was to send a political signal to ensure that justified criticism of Russia's Ukraine policy does not lead to the progress made in relations with Russia being terminated.

call

The signatories complained that the US and Canada were driving the European Union and Russia towards war and made all Europeans, including the Russian Federation, responsible for peace and security. The guiding principle of banishing war from their relationship has been lost among Americans, Europeans and Russians. The result is the threatening expansion of the west to the east without a simultaneous deepening of cooperation with Moscow and the illegal annexation of Crimea by the Russian state under its president Vladimir Putin . The signatories attributed a special responsibility to Germany for keeping the peace. The Russians' need for security is as legitimate and pronounced as that of the Germans, Poles, the Balts and Ukrainians. The media were called upon to fulfill their duty to report without prejudice in a more convincing manner than has been done so far. It's not about Putin, but about taking away people's fear of war. Responsible reporting based on solid research can contribute a lot to this.

Reactions

Media and politics

The appeal caused mainly criticism from FAZ, Die Zeit, taz, Die Welt, Berliner Zeitung, Der Spiegel and others. In particular, the lack of consideration of Ukraine in the text of the appeal and the ignoring of the ongoing war in Ukraine at the time of the appeal were criticized. Some critics took the call as an invitation to overlook the invasion by Russian troops and the subsequent annexation of Crimea in order to quickly normalize relations. Marieluise Beck recalled the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and accused the signatories of the call for a "terrifying oblivion of history". Bert Hoppe described the appeal as contradicting itself: On the one hand, the appeal condemned the "addiction to power and domination" and demanded understanding for "the fear of the Russians" of possible military aggression, on the other hand the authors emphasized Russia's role as a "shaping power" and blinded the fear of the Russians Ukrainians face Russian troops in Crimea and Donbass.

Heribert Prantl from the SZ, on the other hand, emphasized that the weighty political appeal out of justified burning concern, which was supported by a large number of respectable politicians, was justified. He repeats the fear that Helmut Kohl had already expressed that everything that was won would be lost again. Russia must not be pushed out of Europe. The exclusion of Russia is undiplomatic, "rumbling, condescending behavior". Europe, which includes Russia, must open up again.

It was criticized that the call was initially withheld in the television news.

The right-wing extremist NPD recommended their supporters to support the call. The alternative for Germany followed the demands and concerns presented in the text. Also Katja Kipping , chairman of the party Die Linke , agreed to the statements of the call, although the Left was probably not prompted with intention to support him. The SPD, CDU / CSU and the government initially held back with their verdict.

The call was also supported by the peace movement.

German-Russian forum

Long-time Moscow correspondent Elfie Siegl announced her departure from the German-Russian Forum on March 26, 2015 . One of the reasons she mentioned explicitly was the fact that several board members and other well-known members of the forum had signed the appeal: “This appeal does not mention the state of war in some parts of Ukraine or the annexation of Crimea. For this reason alone, as an independent journalist and Russia expert, I no longer feel adequately represented by the German-Russian Forum and its management. "

Countercall from December 11th

100 signatories of the countercall initiated by Andreas Umland , among others , including Eastern Europe experts from science and the media, published a countercall in Tagesspiegel on December 11, in which most of the signatories of the first call had little relevant research experience, little expertise in the post-Soviet area and obviously Accused of lack of specialist knowledge of Ukraine and of the recent events there. The Russian annexation of Crimea and the poorly disguised intervention in eastern Ukraine cannot be offset against the inadequacies in Ukraine's political system. The countercall clearly names the Russian Federation as the aggressor.

If Russia feels threatened by the EU and / or NATO , it should resolve this dispute with Brussels. Ukraine is neither a member of these organizations nor is it conducting accession negotiations with them. Nevertheless, with reference to an alleged threat from the West, Russia is waging a “ hybrid war ” in the Donets Basin that has already killed thousands of people, mutilated, traumatized and displaced . The signatories pointed out that Russia had already broken agreements on troop withdrawals in Transnistria , Abkhazia and South Ossetia , and urged the German government to exercise caution. The Kremlin media had also defamed the former Soviet republics of Estonia and Latvia , but unlike Georgia and Ukraine, joining NATO in 2004 would have enabled the Baltic states to maintain their territorial integrity and peaceful development.

Regarding the role of the German media, they stated that half-truths about the Ukrainian people were in abundance among the German public. The researchers referred to reports on the language situation, minority politics, right-wing extremism and the political upheaval in Ukraine. Misinformation and tendentious interpretations of the Ukraine have gotten stuck in the minds of many as a result of “superficial research and frequent statements by Kremlin speakers” in television discussions about Ukraine. A co-signer of the countercall, Karl Schlögel , had already called on people at the end of May to visit Ukraine - like himself - to get an idea of ​​the situation and to recognize the extent of the "lies of Russian propaganda". Anna Veronika Wendland had already warned in April of a blind spot on the German left, who perceive the Ukraine question in a kind of inverse Cold War logic: “In Putin Russia, the most disgusting aspects of the ancien régime are combined with the structural legacy the Soviet Union. In a regime that secures its position through xenophobia , orthodox bigotry and autocratic verticals of power, there can definitely be no allies for the left, including tactical ones. There is currently nothing in Russia that the left should defend - at least not the Russian rulers and their Ukraine policy. "

Reactions from the media and politics

The countercall was hardly noticed or discussed in the media. Newspapers such as the Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Frankfurter Rundschau summarized the content, but did not evaluate the appeal.

Signatory

Appeal signatory

Mario Adorf , Robert Antretter , Wilfried Bergmann , Luitpold Prince of Bavaria , Achim von Borries , Klaus Maria Brandauer , Eckhard Cordes , Herta Däubler-Gmelin , Eberhard Diepgen , Alexander van Dülmen , Stefan Dürr , Erhard Eppler , Heino Falcke , Hans-Joachim Frey , Anselm Grün , Sibylle Havemann , Roman Herzog , Christoph Hein , Burkhard Hirsch , Volker Hörner , Josef Jacobi , Sigmund Jähn , Uli Jörges , Margot Käßmann , Andrea von Knoop , Gabriele Krone-Schmalz , Friedrich Küppersbusch , Vera Countess von Lehndorff , Irina Liebmann , Lothar de Maizière , Stephan Märki , Klaus Mangold , Reinhard and Hella Mey, Ruth Misselwitz , Klaus Prömpers , Konrad Raiser , Jim Rakete , Gerhard Rein , Michael Röskau , Eugen Ruge , Otto Schily , Friedrich Schorlemmer , Georg Schramm , Gerhard Schröder , Philipp von Schulthess , Ingo Schulze , Hanna Schygulla , Dieter Spöri , Fulbert Steffensky , Wolf-D. Stelzner , Manfred Stolpe , Ernst-Jörg von Studnitz , Walther Stützle , Christian R. Supthut , Horst Teltschik , Andres Veiel , Hans-Jochen Vogel , Antje Vollmer , Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter , Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker , Wim Wenders , Hans-Eckardt Wenzel , Gerhard Wolf

The former mayor of Hamburg Klaus von Dohnanyi explained the inadvertent mention of his name due to a misunderstanding by his secretary. As a matter of principle, he does not sign such calls because of the possibility of instrumentalization and possible misinterpretation, even if, as in this case, he agrees with some points. The alleged "withdrawal of his signature" was perceived by the public as a retrospective distancing of a renowned politician.

Countercall signatory

Among the signatories of the countercall are Klaus Bednarz (formerly ARD office Moscow), Sabine Adler (Deutschlandradio Warsaw), Marieluise Beck ( Member of the Bundestag ), Manuel Sarrazin (Member of the Bundestag) and Gerd Poppe (formerly Member of the Bundestag). Well-known scientists include Karl Schlögel , Wilfried Jilge , Andreas Umland , Martin Schulze Wessel , Stefan Troebst , Gerhard Simon , Karsten Brüggemann and Heike Dörrenbächer .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Dohnanyi withdraws signature on appeal. In: Welt.de , December 10, 2014, accessed December 21, 2014
  2. ↑ "Call and Countercall" tagesschau.de from December 11, 2014, viewed on December 19, 2014 ( Memento from December 23, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Manfred Sapper and Volker Weichsel: Capable of thinking to a limited extent . In: Eastern Europe (magazine) , 9–10 / 2014.
  4. ^ Karl Schlögel: This call for Russia is an embarrassing document. In: Welt online , December 8, 2014.
  5. ↑ Pascal Beucker: "Nobody wants war, but ..." In: die tageszeitung , December 7, 201, viewed on December 14, 2014.
  6. ↑ Bert Hoppe: “Another war in Europe?” But their hearts slip in their pants. In: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung , February 10, 2014.
  7. ^ Debate about other Russia policy: Burning concern . In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed June 28, 2016]).
  8. ↑ http://www.stefan-niggemeier.de/blog/19983/60-prominente-gegen-den-krieg-sind-keine-nachricht-fuer-ard-und-zdf/
  9. ↑ Wolfgang Herles: The Complacency: Against Conformism in the Media and Populism in Politics . Albrecht Knaus Verlag, 2015, ISBN 978-3-641-13591-1 ( google.com [accessed July 1, 2016]).
  10. ^ NPD: "NPD supports appeal for détente policy towards Russia". ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: npd-niedersachsen.de , December 9, 2014, accessed on December 26, 2014  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.npd-niedersachsen.de
  11. ^ AfD: No Cold War with Russia. In: Presseportal.de , December 10, 2014.
  12. ↑ http://www.taz.de/!5026757/
  13. ↑ press. In: ippnw.de. Retrieved July 1, 2016 .
  14. ↑ Boris Reitschuster's Facebook page
  15. ^ «Nobody dares to go to Donetsk». In: Tages-Anzeiger , May 31, 2014
  16. ↑ Anna Veronika Wendland: For a new country. In: Friday , April 10, 2014
  17. ↑ Debate on Russia policy: Eastern Europe experts see Putin as an aggressor . In: sueddeutsche.de . ISSN  0174-4917 ( sueddeutsche.de [accessed July 1, 2016]).
  18. ↑ Katja Tichomirowa: Countercall: "Reality-based" Russia policy required. In: fr-online.de. Retrieved July 1, 2016 .
  19. ↑ List of signatories according to the article "War in Europe again? Not in our name!" In: Zeit.de , December 5, 2014, accessed December 5, 2014
  20. ↑ Klaus von Dohnanyi: Signature was a misunderstanding. In: Tagesspiegel , December 10, 2014, accessed December 20, 2014.
  21. ↑ Dohnanyi withdraws signature on appeal. In: Welt Online. December 10, 2014, accessed July 1, 2016 .
  22. ^ Wording of the countercall on Tagesspiegel.de