#DeutscheEnergieUnabhängigkeit
German and Ukrainian activists are demanding a government plan to divest from russian energy
Demonstration on November 19, 2022, 15:00-19:00, Invalidenpark
They announced this on Saturday, November 19, during a public event in Invalidenpark, which took place under the slogan #DeutscheEnergieUnabhängigkeit.
The organizers of the demonstration, the non-governmental organization Vitsche, call on the German government to develop a presentation of a step-by-step plan to get rid of the dependence on Russian energy carriers.
“russia allows itself to blackmail Germany with prices and gas supplies. The energy crisis, provoked by the recent behavior of Russia, unfortunately, will not end after the winter of 2022–2023. German politicians must develop and present to German society an effective plan for withdrawing from the use of Russian energy resources and ensure Germany’s transition to a fossil-fuel-free future by diversifying energy sources and encouraging renewable energy development”, says the head of Vitsche, Iryna Shulikina.
The position regarding the rapid abandonment of fossil fuels, including those imported from russia, is shared by Greenpeace. Activists from Greenpeace Berlin joined the #DeutscheEnergieUnabhängigkeit campaign. Yusin Washio gave a speech during the event: “With our 10 immediate measures, oil demand in Germany can be reduced by up to 12%, which would already correspond to about 1/3 of imports from Russia. These include speed limits, car-free Sundays, and more cycling like in the Netherlands”.
Rebecca Harms, a former MEP, and a sincere supporter of the “green movement”, as well as a sharp critic of russia’s policy and its brutal attack on Ukraine, addressed the participants of the demonstration from the stage: “With 100s of missiles did russia shell Ukrainian cities. 30-50% of the energy infrastructure is destroyed. Many civilian locations are shelled each day. These attacks against the civilian population are part of the war crimes Putin and others must be held accountable for”.
Danylo Poliluev-Schmidt from IWEK e.V., an organization that wholeheartedly supported the #DeutscheEnergieUnabhängigkeit campaign, stated: “We want to see a list of solutions from the German government. I propose the following: 1. Fast diversification of energy supply through green energy. 2. More Investments in studies about renewable energy sources and 3.Termination of support of russian terrorism through energy payments”.
At the end of the demonstration, the participants, and co-organizers, with the participation of Ukrainian collective Berlinska Sich, held a performance. Having changed the light of their phone screens to blue and yellow (the colors of the Ukrainian flag), the activists switched them on and off. Thus, demonstrating the blackouts throughout Ukraine caused by the massive missile attack on the energy infrastructure. Activists wanted to emphasize that when a country finds itself dependent on a resource, it becomes very vulnerable to the actions of whoever owns that resource.
At the beginning of 2022, 55% of Germany’s natural gas imports, 36% of its oil imports and 34% of its coal imports came from russia.
More pictures of the action can be found here.
Media contact:
Krista-Marija Läbe
Spokeswoman Vitsche
+49 176 444 20 299
Organizer contact:
Iryna Shulikina
Chairwoman Vitsche
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