Protests – IPB – International Peace Bureau

February 24th, 2023 marks the 1-year anniversary of the war in Ukraine. After almost one year, weapons are still not silent. News are still dominated by new attacks and their humanitarian consequences. This cannot continue. Around the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, organizations and groups from the peace and disarmament movement organized actions all over the world to show solidarity with Ukraine and call for a ceasefire and negotiations.

We compiled many actions and demonstrations in a list made public to all:

01 year Ukraine – Peace Actions and Activities 22/02 to 27/02

Many of these events were also present on the page of Peace Initiatives of sbilanciamoci.info. It is worth following their page to be updated on their latest news.

Preliminary report on national activities in the ambit of Europe-For-Peace

Here you can find a preliminary report about activities on the occasion of the first anniversary of the Ukraine war. So far we have reports from Italy, UK/London, Belgium/Brussels, and Croatia/Zagreb. More reports from Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, and also Denmark might be added soon. We thank Martin Koehler for providing us with this preliminary report.

Preliminary-report-on-national-activities-24-26-Feb-2023 Download

South Korea Action regarding 1 year of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – PSPD

On February 23, on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 56 South Korean civil society organizations took action to condemn the Russian invasion and call for a ceasefire.

You can find the statement here (In Korean)

Our partners of PSPD in Korea are currently translating the statement into English. We thank Sooyoung Hwang for helping us with this translation.

PEACE IS OUR VICTORY

On February 23-24, 2023, the winter session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) happened in Vienna. The meeting coincides with the launch of the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.

During the OSCE session, representatives of the Austrian peace movement gather at the Vienna Hofburg and project their demand for peace in Russian, Ukrainian, English, and German on the façade of the building complex where the delegates meet: “Peace is our victory”.

Here you can find the photos:

https://www.transform-network.net/blog/article/peace-is-our-victory/

https://www.european-left.org/campaigns/peace-is-our-victory/

https://twitter.com/ChrisNineham/status/1629147946242514945/photo/1

We thank Katerina Anastasiou from transform! Europe with this information on the activities in Vienna.

1,000 march in Helsinki to demand peace in Ukraine

Provided by our partners at Peace Union of Finland, here we have the register made by Yle News webpage.

“Events marking the anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued in Helsinki on Saturday. Following a candlelight vigil on the steps of Helsinki Cathedral on Friday, there was a procession through the capital on Saturday afternoon calling for an end to the war and supporting those suffering due to it. […] ‘There are Ukrainians, Russians, and Finns here, and it seems that some foreign tourists have also joined,’ an organizer told Yle.”

We thank Laura Lodenius from the Peace Union of Finland for this information on the activities in Helsinki.

IPB Webinar – 365 Days of War in Ukraine: Prospects Towards Peace in 2023

One year after the beginning of the Ukraine war – the International Peace Bureau in cooperation with the Peace in Ukraine Coalition (USA), Movement de la Paix (France), CND (UK) and Transform! Europe held an international webinar to bring together different voices from different countries to discuss a lasting peace in Ukraine and the way towards it.

Introductory words by Michael von der Schulenburg, a former UN/OSCE diplomat who also participated in the development of the Vatican peace plan;
Afterward, both Ukrainian and Russian activists will share their perspectives on the ongoing situation, including Oleg Bodrov (Public Council of the Gulf of Finland), Karyna Radchenko (100 Words for Peace), and Yurii Sheliazhenko (Ukrainian Pacifist Movement).
A roundtable discussion by different peace activists – including Corazon Valdez Fabros (IPB Co-President), Reiner Braun (former IPB Director, Germany), Lindsey German (Stop the War Coalition, UK), Alain Rouy (Movement de la Paix), Francesco Vignarca (Rete Italiana Pace e Disarmo, Italy), Medea Benjamin (CODEPINK) and Kate Hudson (CND) as moderator.

– 07th February 2023

Twenty years ago, on February 15^th, 2003, activists from across the globe gathered in what many social movement researchers would come to describe as “the largest protest event in human history.”^[1] In more than 600 cities worldwide, coordinated protests filled the streets with people expressing their opposition to the imminent United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq^[2]. This was part of a series of protests and political events that had begun in 2002 and continued as the invasion, the war, and the occupation took place.

Twenty years later, on February 15^th and 16^th, 2023, the International Peace Bureau (IPB), together with partners and supporters, organized an event to remember and discuss the preparation, organization, and consequences of these large anti-war rallies. We aim to highlight the lessons learned by the international and national peace movements and discuss further steps toward the future of peace when dealing with the current challenges of our times.

Named “Iraq War Protests +20”, the event will have three interconnected parts – parts 01 and 02 on February 15^th (04:00 PM – 08:00 PM Central European Time) and part 03 on February 16^th (07:00 AM – 09:00 AM CET), with the aim to address all parts of the world.

At the event we will have the participation of a variety of speakers in round tables, interviews, and other actions in different sections:

👉 COMPLETE AND UPDATED PROGRAM HERE 👈

Part 01: A glance at the past – the causes and consequences of the Iraq War

Video opening with footage and comments of the documentary “We Are Many” (2014), directed by Amir Amirani. Also, footage of the documentary “The Days Before – a journey through time for peace in Iraq”, a contribution from Leo Gabriel.
Video remarks from the organizers and participators of the activities in 2003;
Interview with Ismaeel Dawood, an Iraqi Human rights defender;
Round Table on the Impact of the war on the anti-war movement;

Part 02: A glance at the present – the current state of the peace movement

Participation of Noam Chomsky about the reasons behind the war, the lessons learned, and the war’s impact on global developments;
Round Table on the current challenges the Peace Movement Faces;

Part 03: A glance at the future – where peace will take us?

Summary and Highlights of the previous day;
Round Table on how to build the future of the peace movement;
Musical and Artistic Intervention;

👉 COMPLETE AND UPDATED PROGRAM HERE 👈

IraqWarProtests20-–-Detailed-Program-IPB-1 Download

^[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_February_2003_anti-war_protests

^[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2003_invasion_of_Iraq

^[3] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1929449/

You can register for our event here or click on the links below:

Registration link for Parts 01 & 02 (15th of February, 04 PM – 08 PM CET):

➡️ Click here to register to parts 01 & 02!

Registration link for Parts 03 (16th of February, 07 AM – 09 AM CET):

➡️Click here to register to part 03!

More details on the program are going to be uploaded on the page for the event.

You can download the PDF version of this press release here:

Press-Release-IraqWarProtests20-1 Download

➡️ Interact with us on social media especially to learn about our latest actions and activities: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

➡️ Our office is open to reply to any doubts regarding the documents that were above presented. To get in touch with us, e-mail us at info@ipb-office.berlin.

Tag: Protests

Summary of the demonstrations and actions on the one-year anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (24/02/2023)

Press Release: Iraq War Protests +20 – Lessons from past peace movements. Actions towards a peaceful future