20130324 Keine Kampfdrohnen!

24.03.2013 Keine Kampfdrohnen!

The Appeal “No Combat Drones!”

Press statement

March 22, 2013
Press Statement

A Call by Peace and Civil Rights Organizations

On the occasion of today’s opening of this year’s nationwide Easter Peace March activities, numerous peace and civil rights organizations are issuing this joint appeal against employing drones for combat missions, surveillance or oppression. The appeal “No Combat Drones!” is addressed to the German government and parliament, demanding that they neither acquire combat drones nor continue to invest in their research and development.

At the beginning of March, representatives of various peace and civil rights movements met in Hanover to discuss a common approach in our opposition to the German Bundeswehr being equipped with armed unmanned aerial vehicles (combat drones). Our meeting was in response to the growing number of statements from within government circles proposing the acquisition of these new weapons.

This nationwide appeal “No Combat Drones!,” currently supported by around 80 organizations, associations, and initiatives in Germany was the result. Peace and civil rights organizations, church groups and trade unions as well as citizens’ initiatives have joined this broad alliance.

The objective of this campaign is to inform the public of the dangers of acquiring combat and surveillance drones. The campaign concretely calls on the German government and Bundestag to abandon the “aberration” of acquiring and producing killer drones, as well as pursuing research and development of this weapon. It also demands that the government and parliament become engaged in achieving a worldwide ban, as well as an international proscription of these weapons. The alliance seeks to establish strong ties of cooperation and cross-linking with other initiatives at the international level.

The alliance is launching an immediate call for signatures under this appeal. At the

www.drohnen-kampagne.de

internet portal, one can print out signature lists or sign the appeal online. Information on drones will also be available.

Our flyer about drones "Keine Drohnen für Krieg und Überwachung"

The signatores of the appeal