Anniversary of the political lie
The worldwide readings arose in connection with the anniversary of the political lie , which was first announced on March 20, 2006, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the invasion of the US-led troops into Iraq , by the Peter Weiss Foundation for Art and Politics. V., based in Berlin, was proclaimed in order to raise awareness of the content and forms of political communication. The anniversary of the Political Lies has always been celebrated with readings around the world (although not all readings take place on the anniversary itself), to which cultural institutions, theaters and interested people are invited. The readings address important political issues around the world, but also the fate of politically committed personalities such as Edward Snowden and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo . Because the lie is one of the instruments of political influence even at the beginning of the 21st century, it must be made clear that the forces that oppose them are not weakening.
Worldwide reading
- In 2006, the anniversary of the Political Lie was celebrated for the first time with a worldwide reading. The essay What I heard from Iraq by the New York writer Eliot Weinberger was presented and staged at 47 venues on all continents .
- The second worldwide reading on the anniversary of the Political Lies took place in 2007 in memory of the journalist and Putin critic Anna Politkovskaja, who was murdered the previous year, at over 70 venues.
- Another global reading was held in 2007 devoted to democracy and freedom of the press in Zimbabwe .
- In 2008 the worldwide reading was dedicated to the Chinese poet Lu Xun and the poems of Mahmud Darwish . Mahmoud Darwish had campaigned for a peaceful and just coexistence between Arabs and Israelis.
- 2009, global reading was the fatwa of Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali Montazeri instead. The aim of the reading was to support democracy and freedom in Iran.
- In 2010, the worldwide reading of poems and prose by the Chinese author Liao Yiwu was held in memory of the Tian'anmen Square massacre.
- In March 2011 the reading was dedicated to Liu Xiaobo , the incarcerated Chinese Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2010.
- The worldwide reading in November 2011 was dedicated to the German author Heinrich von Kleist .
- March 2012 another worldwide reading took place in honor of the Chinese author Liu Xiaobo .
- April 2012 the international literature festival berlin called for a worldwide reading against the Assad regime .
- In December 2012, members of the Russian punk band Pussy Riot were finally called for a worldwide reading .
- June 2013 the worldwide reading was held in solidarity with Li Bifeng .
- October 2013 the worldwide reading took place in solidarity with Mikhail Khodorkovsky , Platon Lebedew and all political prisoners in Russia.
- In 2014, the worldwide reading was organized for Edward Snowden . Texts on the topic of surveillance were read.
- In 2015, the global reading was dedicated to the centenary of the Armenian genocide . Literary texts by Armenian authors were read.
- In 2016, the worldwide reading was dedicated to Ashraf Fayadh , the Palestinian poet who was sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia .
Further worldwide readings are based on the international literature festival berlin .