Donnerstag, 05.09.2024 | 17:00 Uhr | Neptunbrunnen, Rathausstraße 1, 10178 Berlin
Anreise: U5, Bus 200, 300 Rotes Rathaus | Tram M4, M5, M6, Bus 100 Spandauer Straße/Marienkirche | U2, U8, RB23, RE1, RE2, RE7, RE8, S3, S5, S7, S9 Alexanderplatz | Bus 248 Jüdenstraße
📣 Aufruf: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_N0e5jsBSD/ – @ostasien.antikolonial
#b0509 #FriedensstatueBleibt
***Unsere Stellungnahme auf Chage.org https://www.change.org/p/save-ari-die-friedensstatue-muss-bleiben/u/32817830
🔥Reminder for sale? – Kai Wegner must go!🔥
Thursday, 05.09.2024 | 05:00 pm | Neptunbrunnen, Rathausstraße 1, 10178 Berlin
Arrival: U5, Bus 200, 300 Rotes Rathaus | Tram M4, M5, M6, Bus 100 Spandauer Straße/Marienkirche | U2, U8, RB23, RE1, RE2, RE7, RE8, S3, S5, S7, S9 Alexanderplatz | Bus 248 Jüdenstraße
📣 Call: https://www.instagram.com/p/C_P5px6tUiN/ – @ostasien.antikolonial
#b0509 #PeaceStatueRemains
Our culture of remembrance and memorials must not be sold to the Japanese government.
For the preservation of the Statue of Peace Ari and for democracy!
On August 3, 2024, rbb* reported that Kai Wegner (CDU), the Governing Mayor of Berlin, had exerted influence on the Berlin Project Fund for Cultural Education to stop the Korea Verband’s educational project “Sit next to me”. This project, which deals with the topic of sexualized violence, was approved by a jury of experts, but the Japanese government disliked it.
Wegner then put pressure on his state secretaries to vote against the project. He also urged the district mayor of Berlin-Mitte, Stefanie Remlinger (Alliance 90/The Greens), to remove the Statue of Peace Ari, apparently in exchange for Mitsubishi’s investment in the Smart City project on the former Tegel airport site.
Our demands:
1. Preservation of the Statue of Peace Ari
The Statue of Peace must stay! Despite broad support from civil society and the positive decisions of the District Assembly (BVV), the statue is still under threat. District Mayor Stefanie Remlinger has stated that there is no legal basis for preserving the statue, but we insist that the voice of the victims of sexualized violence and the citizens of Berlin must be heard.
2. Protecting democracy and the culture of remembrance
It is unacceptable that political influence and economic interests are undermining the culture of remembrance in Berlin. The Japanese embassy tried to influence jury members of the project fund to decide against educational projects such as “Sit next to me”. When this failed, Kai Wegner personally prevented the continuation of the project. We demand that educational projects and monuments that deal with the memory of historical injustices be protected regardless of economic interests.
Since 2017, Yuriko Koike, the mayor of Tokyo, has refused to send a letter of condolence as part of the commemoration ceremony for the Korean victims of the massacre after the Great Tokyo Earthquake (1923) and has actively censored artworks that deal with the subject. Despite these facts, Kai Wegner continues to do business with her.**
3. Investigation and political consequences
We call on the Berlin Senate to thoroughly investigate these incidents and respect the decisions of the expert jury. Kai Wegner must focus on the needs of Berlin’s citizens instead of using his political influence for the revisionist Japanese government. District Mayor Stefanie Remlinger should reject the pressure from Wegner and the Japanese government and speak out clearly in favor of preserving the peace statue.
4. Victim protection instead of perpetrator protection
We demand that the protection of victims of sexualized violence be given priority and that educational and awareness-raising work for young people be given greater support.
You can find more information on rbb24 and our statement on Change.org.***
*RBB (August 3, 2024) : Funding for project on sexualized violence fails due to political influence
https://www.rbb24.de/panorama/beitrag/2024/08/wegner-bildungsprojekt-stopp-trostfrauen-berlin-moabit.html.
** The Asahi Shimbun (August 28, 2023): Koike neglects duty in ignoring 1923 massacre of ethnic Koreans
https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14991206
***Our statement on Chage.org
https://www.change.org/p/save-ari-die-friedensstatue-muss-bleiben/u/32817830