BERLIN, April 19. /TASS/. Traditional Easter peace marches have commenced in several German cities, including Berlin. Organized by trade unions, religious communities, and left-wing groups, these demonstrations, rallies, and bicycle rides are scheduled to take place in over 90 localities across the country on Easter Sunday.
The primary issues on their agenda include disarmament, and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. In Berlin alone, the demonstration under the banner "Yes to Peace" drew approximately 1,800 participants, according to preliminary police estimates.
"The Easter marches this year particularly call on the new government to demonstrate that Germany is committed to peace, not war," stated Christian Golla of the Netzwerk Friedenskooperative, an alliance dedicated to peace advocacy. He emphasized that Berlin’s policies toward Ukraine are a central concern: "The path to peace for the Ukrainian people does not lie through supplying more weapons but through diplomatic negotiations," he asserted.
These Easter marches have their origins in Britain in the 1950s, emerging as a protest against the proliferation of atomic weapons during the Cold War. In Germany, the first such demonstrations appeared in the 1960s. Over the years, Germans have protested against the Vietnam War, the Gulf conflicts, and NATO's bombing of Yugoslavia. However, with the fall of the Iron Curtain, the popularity of these marches waned across Europe.