BERLIN – On the evening of January 20, as the new U.S. president takes office in Washington, D.C., Berliners will march to the Brandenburg Gate to speak out against the divisive politics of Donald Trump and political opportunists like him.
Held in conjunction with allied demonstrations in Paris, London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, and elsewhere, the march will begin at the offices of German extremist party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) and end in front of the U.S. embassy on Berlin’s historic Pariser Platz. The event is being organized by The Coalition, a broad Berlin-based assembly of German, U.S. American, and international groups and individuals working to combat “Trumpism” and other hate-driven political currents before they do irreparable damage across the globe.
Trump, the AfD, Marine Le Pen’s National Front, Geert Wilder’s Party for Freedom, and other extremists have introduced open racism, xenophobia, misogyny, and homophobia into national political dialogues. They demonize immigrants and religious and ethnic minorities, attack workers’ rights and trade unions, and reject the realities of climate change and the global economy. They fan national tensions, calling for a dangerous internal and external militarization of societies.
But they and their regressive policies represent only a minority of citizens. The Berlin demonstration, like the many others in the United States and around the world on Jan. 20 and 21, will send a clear message: that Trump did not win the U.S. popular vote and does not have a mandate for his destructive agenda, and that he and his like will be forcefully opposed both domestically and internationally.
“Trump is the latest example of the brewing storm of nationalism that twists people’s anger away from society’s most powerful onto society’s most vulnerable, scapegoating immigrants and Islam,” said Kathleen Brown, a member of DIE LINKE Berlin Internationals. “We’re marching in Berlin to show the world that walls don’t work. This demonstration is the start of a much larger movement.”
Kristine Karch, Int’le Network No to War – No to NATO: “Anyone who wants peace and an end to violence and war must demonstrate against Trump. His is a terrifying cabinet of aggressive cruelties, an arms build-up of $30 billion to $70 billion USD, and nuclear-weapons programs. A cabinet of militarists, generals and billionaires who profit from war is anything but peace-promoting.”
More information on The Coalition and its members can be found online at http://the-coalition.berlin, or on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/events/1774027806195503/).
WHEN AND WHERE:
The demonstration will begin at 17:00 at Schillstr. 9 (AfD offices), followed by a march that will reach the Brandenburg Gate at approximately 18:00/18:30, and continue with a rally on Pariser Platz in front of the U.S. embassy.
About The Coalition:
Based in Berlin, The Coalition is made up of organizations, activists, artists, and numerous previously nonpolitical individuals concerned about the rising global tide of extremism. Although formed in response to Trump’s election, its work will continue beyond Inauguration Day, with the aim of coordinating effective responses in Berlin to events in Germany, across Europe, and in North America. The Jan. 20 demonstration is being organized by members of the following groups, among others: American Voices Abroad Berlin, Berlin Forum on Global Politics, Berlin Ireland Pro-Choice, Berlin Soup, Club Al-Hakawati, CommUNITY Karneval, DIE LINKE Berlin Internationals, DISRUPT J20 Berlin, HDP/HDK, IALANA, marx21, NoBergida, NODAPL Berlin, No to war – No to NATO, Polish Pro-Choice Group, Pussy Grabs Back, Salon for the Resistance, SAV, SB Collective, and WIR MACHEN DAS.
Press contacts:
Kathleen Brown
DIE LINKE Berlin Internationals
E-MAIL: kathleenbrown1@gmail.com
Kristine Karch
Internationales Netzwerk No to War – No to NATO
TEL: +49 (0)173 5313 777
E-MAIL: kristine@kkarch.de
Ann Wertheimer
American Voices Abroad Berlin
TEL: +49 (0)30 813 2615
E-MAIL: wertheim@zedat.fu-berlin.de
Miguel Verde
Berlin Forum on Global Politics
E-MAIL: verde.m@gmail.com
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