The Left Berlin News & Comment

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News from Berlin and Germany, 3rd September 2025

Weekly news from Berlin and Germany

The Left Berlin
03/09/2025

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Police officer strikes person – Irish Embassy expresses concern

A physical altercation between Berlin police and pro-Palestinian demonstrators becomes an international political issue. The Irish Foreign Ministry confirmed to the German Press Agency that it had been informed of a specific incident on 28 August in Berlin: several videos of the rally show a police officer punching a person from Ireland twice in the face, causing the victim to bleed from the nose. On 30 August, the Berlin police confirmed that they were aware of video recordings of the incident. The officer in question had been identified and the incident was being investigated, a spokesperson said. Source: web.de

Shocking findings from the Senate: rents in Berlin are too high

No other German city has seen rents rise as sharply as Berlin. For this reason, the Senate set up a rent review office in March. The review office, called “Sicheres Wohnen – Beteiligung, Beratung, Prüfung” (Secure Housing – Participation, Advice, Review), or SiWo for short, has now presented its figures for the second quarter of 2025 and came to some shocking conclusions: 93 of the 95 rental contracts reviewed exceeded the local comparative rent. Specifically, rents were on average around 50% above the local comparative rent. This once again confirms the suspicion that rent violations are by no means isolated cases, but rather a structural phenomenon. Source: berliner Zeitung

No responsibility for social media posts

Palestinian activist Majed Abusalama was acquitted by the Berlin District Court on 27 August. The public prosecutor’s office accuses the co-founder of the group “Palestine Speaks” of condoning criminal acts. He is alleged to have glorified the terrorist acts of Hamas on October 7, 2023, in two social media posts. Judge Regina Schlosser justified Abusalama’s acquittal on the grounds that it could not be proven that the defendant had written the posts. The group “Palestine Speaks” is involved in many pro-Palestinian demonstrations in Berlin, addresses human rights violations by Israel, and criticizes German policy on Israel and Palestine. Source: taz

Police operation on Rigaer Strasse: 700 officers deployed

On 28 August, police searched a building on Rigaer Strasse with a court-issued search warrant, according to a statement by the authorities on „X“. The house in question is the residential building at Rigaer Straße 94, considered one of the last partially squatted houses in Berlin and a stronghold for the extreme left-wing scene. Rigaer Strasse was closed for the duration of the operation, according to the police. A total of 700 officers wewre deployed through out the city to secure the area. The residents are allowed to remain in the building for the time being. Source: msn

NEWS FROM GERMANY

New Rheinmetall plant

The defense contractor Rheinmetall has opened a new plant in Unterlüß, Lower Saxony. It could become the largest ammunition plant in Europe. The DAX-listed company is responding to increased demand from the German Armed Forces, other Western armies, and the Ukrainian armed forces. “This marks a new chapter in the history of our company and our Unterlüß site in terms of artillery production,” said Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger. Rheinmetall is also building a factory for rocket engines and possibly warheads at the site. Another plant for RDX explosives and possibly ammunition charges is also being planned. Source: taz

Number of unemployed exceeds three million mark for the first time in ten years

The number of unemployed in Germany rose by 46,000 in past August compared to the previous month. With this, the number sums up to 3.025 million unemployed in the country with the unemployment rate at 6.4%. Despite a new high in unemployment, the Institute for Employment Research (IAB) sees nevertheless the first signs of hope. For the labor market barometer, experts survey all employment agencies monthly about their expectations for the next three months. In August, for the first time in three years, it is expected that rises in unemployment should come to an end. Source: Welt

Merz does not rule out conscription for women

Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has not ruled out the possibility that women could also be conscripted into military service in Germany in the long term. If the new model for military service, which is based on voluntary enlistment, proves insufficient, “then there will have to be a mechanism for returning to conscription,” Merz told French broadcaster TF1. However, this would not be easy. The constitution does not currently allow women to be conscripted into military service. On 27 August, the federal cabinet approved a draft law that would increase the number of soldiers in the German Armed Forces by several tens of thousands. Source: msn

Anti-war demonstration in Cologne: brutal police kettling

After a six-year hiatus, the “Kölner Lichter” festival took place again in Cologne on 30 August. An estimated 150,000 people watched the €1.2 million fireworks display. Meanwhile, the media interest in the closing demonstration of the “Disarm Rheinmetall” camp remained low – even though pyrotechnics also played a significant role. During the demonstration, which was conceived as a parade with around 3,000 participants, also on 30 August, the police struck back. Already after the short opening rally at Heumarkt, the procession was prevented from setting off. The reason given was the presence of some metal flagpoles and masks in the revolutionary block, which was mainly made up of communist groups. Source: nd-aktuell

17+8 Demands From the Indonesian Protesters

Core Principles: Transparency · Reformation · Empathy

The Left Berlin
02/09/2025

rust is earned, not given.
We are waiting — prove to us that you are listening.

17 Demands Within 1 Week

(Deadline: 5 September 2025)

Responsibilities of the President

Withdraw the military (TNI) from civilian security and end the criminalization of demonstrators.
Establish an Independent Investigation Team into the cases of Affan Kurniawan, Umar Amarudin, and all victims of state violence and human rights violations during the August 28–30 protests, with a clear and transparent mandate.

Responsibilities of Parliament (DPR)

3. Freeze salary/benefit increases for DPR members and cancel new facilities (including pensions).
4. Proactively publish full budget transparency (salaries, benefits, housing, facilities).
5. Launch ethical and judicial investigations (including through KPK) into corrupt or problematic DPR members.

Responsibilities of Political Parties

6. Strictly sanction or expel cadres who act unethically and provoke public anger.
7. Publicly commit to standing with the people in times of crisis.
8. Involve party members in public dialogue with students and civil society.

Responsibilities of the Police

9. Release all detained demonstrators.
10. End police violence and comply with existing SOPs for crowd control.
11. Transparently prosecute and bring to justice officers and commanders responsible for violence and human rights violations.

Responsibilities of the Military (TNI)

12. Return immediately to the barracks and cease involvement in civilian security.
13. Enforce internal discipline to prevent TNI members from taking over police functions.
14. Make a public commitment not to intervene in civilian spaces during the democratic crisis.

Responsibilities of the Economic Sector

15. Ensure decent wages for all sectors of the workforce (teachers, healthcare workers, laborers, ride-hailing partners, etc.).
16. Take emergency measures to prevent mass layoffs and protect contract workers.
17. Open dialogue with labor unions to resolve issues related to minimum wage and outsourcing.

8 Demands Within 1 Year

(Deadline: 31 August 2026)

Clean up and overhaul Parliament (DPR): conduct public independent audits, set higher standards for membership (reject corruptors), establish performance indicators, abolish privileges (lifetime pensions, special cars, escorts).
Reform political parties and strengthen oversight of the executive branch.
Draft a fairer tax reform plan and roll back unjust tax increases.
Pass and enforce the Law on Asset Confiscation from Corruptors (RUU Perampasan Aset): strengthen the KPK and the Anti-Corruption Law (Tipikor).
Reform the police to be professional and humane, with decentralized functions (security, traffic, national defense).
Return the military (TNI) fully to the barracks, without exceptions.
Strengthen the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM) and other independent oversight bodies.
Review economic and labor policies, including revising the Omnibus Law on Job Creation and PSN priority projects, to protect workers, indigenous communities, and the environment.

These 17+8 demands are a summary* of various demands and calls that have been circulating on social media over the past few days, including:

The 7-day demands from@salsaer@jeromepolin @cherylmarella, the result of deliberations from millions of people’s voices in the comment section & Instagram Stories.

The demands of 211 civil society organizations published through YLBHI’s website.

Press Release of the Center for Indonesian Law and Policy
Studies (PSHK).

Statement of the Association of Master’s Students in Notarial Law, University of Indonesia.

Statement of the Center for Environmental Law & Climate
Justice, University of Indonesia.

Demands from the Labor Protest on August 28, 2025.

12 People’s Demands Towards Reform, Transparency & Justice by Reformasi Indonesia on Change.org, which has already received more than 40,000 signatures.

*This summary seeks to capture the essence of the various reference sources mentioned above and may not include all details in full. This summary also does not intend to overlook other demands that may have circulated at the same time.

🔥 We are waiting.
🔥 Prove to us that you are listening.

September 4, 2009 – Kunduz massacre

This week in working class history

Phil Butland

In the early hours of 4 September 2009, US planes dropped two 500-pound bombs on two fuel tankers in Kunduz, Afghanistan. This was a NATO mission, and the order to bomb was given by German Colonel Felix Klein. Well over 100 people were killed, most of them civilians, including many children. The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECHR) called the attack the “deadliest German military operation since the end of the Second World War”.

The German government showed no remorse. The army initially announced that there had been no civilian victims. Defence Minister Franz Josef Jung celebrated the attack, claiming that dozens of Taliban fighters had been killed. Jung’s successor, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, described the attack as “militarily appropriate”. There were no direct disciplinary or criminal investigations. In 2013, Colonel Klein, who had ordered the bombing, was promoted to brigadier general.

When lawyers representing the victims tried to prosecute, the German Ministry of Defence withheld important documents and reports. In February 2010, Germany amended its own laws, reclassifying the military deployment as an “armed conflict within the parameters of international law”. This meant that German troops, and their leaders, were no longer liable to prosecution for the Kunduz massacre.

In February 2010, an extensive article in Der Spiegel described the Kunduz bombing as a “war crime” that the German government had attempted to cover up. Two weeks later, during a Bundestag debate, LINKE MPs held up posters with the names of the victims. They were thrown out of the parliamentary chamber. Later that year, Germany paid $5,000 each to the families of 100 of the victims—former Afghan minister Amin Farhang described the sum as “laughable”. Larger claims for compensation were rejected by German courts.

In 2021, German troops left Afghanistan, forced out by a population which had suffered decades of occupation by both the Soviet Union and the US. History is being rewritten to suggest that before the Taliban took over Afghanistan, people lived in peace and democracy. Kunduz shows this was not the case and that Germany’s attempts to expand its army and reintroduce conscription must be resisted.

Cakes & Zines

More is More!

The Left Berlin

This September, get ready for a whole weekend with Cakes & Zines! On September 6 and 7, we are hosting another non-commercial, queer-feminist zine festival with you, the community, and everything that goes with it: a zine & art market, workshops, new friendships, a creative program, delicious food, and of course lots of cake! The festival features marginalized perspectives and aims to be a welcoming space for all.

All donations from the festival will go to Palestinian mutual aid funds and no-border struggles.

Cakes & Zines is a queer-feminist, antifascist DIY zine & art mini-festival collective from Berlin.

StadtWERKSTATT Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg, Mehringdamm 20, 10961 Berlin

Opening times: 06.09. 15:00 – 22:00, 07.09. 12:00 – 18:00

Accessibility info: The festival hall is at ground level, it is connected to the street by uneven ground. There are wheelchair accessible toilets. There will be a calm space available at the festival. Covid policy is in place (come tested, tests at the door, masking encouraged). Festival mostly in English/German spoken language. No sign language interpreters provided.