Several hundred people at Easter marches in Saxony

Several hundred people demonstrated for peace and against rearmament at Easter marches in Saxony over the holidays. They followed calls from local initiatives and also took to the streets against social cuts. In Leipzig, they also protested against the reintroduction of compulsory military service, the "militarization of society" and the stationing of US missiles in Germany. According to the police, around 350 people took part in the action, which remained peaceful.

"Creating peace without weapons" was the motto of an Easter march at the Wende memorial in Plauen - with almost 300 participants. Just as many gathered on Good Friday in Chemnitz "for a world without wars" and marched through this year's European Capital of Culture - according to the police, there were no incidents here either. On Easter Monday, a demonstration took place in Kamenz in eastern Saxony under the motto "Stop wars - peace now!", which led past the memorial to the satellite concentration camp in Herrental.

Peace movement satisfied

The Peace Co-operative Network drew a positive balance of the more than 100 actions nationwide, including a total of four in the Free State of Bavaria. The Easter marches sent "a clear signal for peace, diplomacy and disarmament and against the rearmament plans of the upcoming black-red coalition", said spokesperson Kristian Golla. The unifying elements were the rejection of rearmament, the call for more commitment to peace in Ukraine and the Middle East and the rejection of the planned stationing of US medium-range weapons in Germany.