Berlin Plans Afghanistan and Palestine Protests

Submitted by ujpadmin on Wed, 09/01/2010 - 9:10am.

by Elsa Rassbach

On September 4, 2010, there will be protests and memorials throughout Germany on the anniversary of the Kunduz massacre in which up to 142 Afghans were killed in a bombing attack ordered by a German NATO officer. The largest events will take place in Berlin, including a rally at Brandenburg Gate at 2 pm and a memorial service in a church in Berlin at 7 pm. Anti-war members of the German Parliament have visited relatives of the Kunduz victims in Afghanistan, monetary compensation is being sought from the German government, and on September 4th, there will be public readings of the names of those who were killed in Kunduz.

Earlier on September 4, the Berlin BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) Group will hold a vigil at the Berlin offices of the German firm Rheinmetall, which has a joint venture with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to provide drones for the German military (Bundeswehr) in Afghanistan. IAI also provides drones for Afghanistan to France and Canada. German soldiers have been trained in Israel to use the drones, which were tested in the Israeli attack on Gaza in 2008-2009. German BDS is considering a longer-range campaign against Rheinmetall, a weapons producer for the Nazis during WWII. The first BDS protest at Rheinmetall took place on July 9th at the 5th anniversary of the Palestinian call for BDS. Here's a report on that.

November 19-21, 2010, we will be holding an international counter-summit and protest in Lisbon, Portugal, when NATO heads of state meet there for their summit. According to Agence Press, Obama will attend the NATO summit in Lisbon, the purpose of which is (according to a White House statement) "to focus on on NATO's progress in Afghanistan and ways to revitalize the alliance to meet 21st century threats and challenges."

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