Hello everyone,
Today (Thursday) is Safe Abortion Day, with several events organised to defend a woman’s right to choose and to protest against the fact that abortion in Germany is still illegal.
- At 5.30pm, Omas gegen Rechts and others are organising a demo – Abortion: no punishment for self.determination! Get rid of paragraph 218! The demonstration starts at the Charité hospital and goes to Leopoldplatz.
- At 6pm, there is a rally for the right to a safe abortion outside the offices of the AfD’s Beatrix von Storch, Zionkirchstraße 3.
- At 7pm, Terre des Femmes is organising a showing of the pro-choice film Call Jane at ACUD cinema.
Also Thursday at 7pm, the Palestine Campaign (formerly Nakba75) is organising a showing of the film Ghost Hunting. Released Palestinian prisoners relive and recreate harrowing experiences from their time in Israeli detention facilities. Following the film, there will be a discussion with Saja, who works as a human rights lawyer and is part of the committee against torture in Palestine. The event is in English, and will take place in Refugio, Lenaustraße 4.
Tomorrow (Friday), the Ararat Collective is organising a demonstration against Azerbaijani genocidal aggression. The demo has the following demands:
- The military aggression against, and forcible deportation of the Armenian population in Artsakh must be recognized and responded to as a continuation of the Armenian Genocide.
- Immediate sanctions against Azerbaijan and a termination of the EU‘s strategic partnership with them.
- A legitimate peacekeeping mission for Artsakh and safety ensured for all Armenian inhabitants.
- Access for international observers to document war crimes and crimes against humanity.
It starts at Hermannplatz at 5.30pm.
On Saturday there is a rally, Fight Fortress Europe! Before FC St Pauli’s game against Hertha Berlin, they will be protesting together with Seebrücke Berlin against the GEAS reform and Fortress Europe. The rally begins at 5pm at Coubertinplatz in front of the Olympiastadion. The organisers want to use the opportunity to let people know about Europe’s inhumane asylum and migration politics. Seebrücke is our Campaign of the Week.
On Monday, it’s the next planning meeting of the Berlin LINKE Internationals. For the first half hour or so, there will be discussions on our political walking tours, the coming public meeting on the ongoing decolonialism in Africa, the upcoming Christmas party, and the main topics and speakers for next year’s Summer Camp. This will be followed by an exchange of opinions about how the international Left should react to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its political aftermath. The meeting will be held in Ferat Kocak’s office, Schierker Straße 26, and starts at 7pm. Everyone is welcome.
There are many more activities this week in Berlin, which are listed on our Events page. You can also see a shorter, but more detailed list of events which we are directly involved in here.
In News from Berlin, Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignen announce a second referendum, cyclists protest the CDU’s attempt to cut down on bicycle lanes, tenants in Rigaer Straße fight gentrification, and mayor Kai Wegner plans a fence around Görlitzer Park.
In News from Germany, AfD fail to win a mayorship – but the vote is close, and the Ifo Business Climate index reports that the German economy is stagnating.
Read all about it in this week’s News from Berlin and Germany.
This week’s Video of the Week is the new Crowdfunding Video for Deutsche Wohnen & Co Enteignen. Real estate companies continue to make big profits with rising rents. However, the Berlin government is not working on the implementation of the expropriation referendum, for which 59.1% of Berliners voted. Therefore, we now have to write the law for the socialisation of big real estate companies ourselves and bring it to implementation through a second, legally binding legislative referendum (“Gesetzesvolksentscheid”). Together with your support, we will take back the city! You can donate to the crowdfunding campaign here.
You are also encouraged to join Right2The City, DWE’s working group for non-Germans. Right2TheCity meets on alternate Wednesday evenings at Nansenstraße 2, and is contactable by Instagram or by mailing right2thecity@dwenteignen.de. For more information, follow this linktree link.
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Keep on fighting,
The Left Berlin Editorial Board