An online conference took place April 22 of the peace movement Ostermärsche/Kasseler Friedensratschlag in Germany. Some of the discussion reflected the ideas of the April 15-16 international conference of the Schiller Institute, which had discussed the common goals of the Global South and the peace movement a week earlier. This idea was presented April 22 by Michael von der Schulenburg, who addressed the Schiller Institute conference, and his remarks received much support in the ensuing discussion.
Von der Schulenburg assumes that the military conflict will end in the summer around June. He said that a peace should be negotiated rather than a ceasefire, since this conflict will end with a defeat of Ukraine, this would end up in a breakup of Ukraine into many factions fighting each other. With a peace treaty, he said, there is a perspective for Ukraine on how to proceed. A ceasefire, he said, would also be a purely military agreement over which the peace movement would have no influence. Moreover, in the case of Ukraine, one would be talking about a border of 1200 km, which would then have to be monitored by the UN or OSCE. In response to a sharp intervention, with a ceasefire that would mean an end to the killing, Schulenburg referred to the ceasefire between Iraq and Iran, where Iran was on the verge of civil war.
Instead of “No to War,” he proposed “Yes to Peace” as the slogan of the peace movement, which the peace movement would also have to fill with content. The Global South would not participate in the Ukraine war. The peace movement should cooperate with the Global South.
