This call is also Available in German, Turkish
First events of the Long March will be in Berlin. On 27th of January 2023 at 19:00 in Zielona Góra (Grünbergerstr. 73, 10245 Berlin), there will be an info event. On 28th of January 2023 at 15:00, there will be a demonstration in Oranienplatz.
The Paragraph 129 of the Criminal Code (StGB) of Germany has a 200-year history. Throughout the time, the name changed, but the content always remained the same: Whoever opposes the status quo, is punished for it. Under the name § 129 with its appendages a and b, it is the most recent form in the history of state persecution of freedom of speech in Germany.
Its roots go back to 1822, when it functioned as a “state protection law” against the bourgeois revolution in Germany. It was later applied against democrats and socialists who wanted to create publicity for the Paris Commune in 1871. In Nazi Germany between 1933-1945, critics of the regime, oppositionists and resisters were also charged under this paragraph. In 1951, in the course of the so-called “denazification” and a review of the StGB, the old Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), where 80% of judges also worked as judges in the Nazi regime, retained the paragraph with the demagogical justification of “preventing Nazis from gaining strength again”. In the mid-1970s, during the heydays of militant anti-imperialist struggles in the FRG, the § 129 was expanded with the addition of section a, which brought with it a diffuse notion of “terrorism”. In 2002, the next and for the time being last extension followed, with the addition of section b (foreign terrorist organization).
The extensions made a new level of repression possible. For example, “propaganda” was included in the criminal offense, which means, among other things, that no illegal activity must be present in order to be prosecuted under the accusation of terrorism. These paragraphs, which in the FRG can only be applied under the instructions of the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also contain special provisions that restrict the fundamental rights of the defendant. The §§ 129ff. are an attack on the rights and the liberties of people, as well as on the right to resist. Thus it is nothing more than legal injustice!
Today, as then, many left-wing activists and revolutionaries in Germany are confronted with persecution under §§ 129, 129a and b. Especially socialists from Turkey and Kurdistan are the target of these attacks under § 129b. Three of them are Özgül Emre, İhsan Cibelik and Serkan Küpeli. They were arrested in May 2022 and have been locked up in German prisons since then.
On the occasion of this, we, as anti-fascists and anti-imperialists, have formed an alliance. We will be a unity against the state repression and criminalization of antagonistic forces. We will not allow our democratic rights to be taken away from us. We know very well that if we do not stand up today against the arbitrariness of §§ 129 and do not organize, we will be the next.
Within the campaign “Away with the paragraph 129” we will fight for all antifascist and left prisoners in Germany who are sentenced under the paragraphs 129, 129a or 129b. Our intermediate goal is that the process of Özgül, İhsan and Serkan continues without pre-trial detention and they are set free.
With a Long March, we want to inform about the paragraph (its history, as well as its application, based on current examples), get into conversation with you, create publicity and organize solidarity with those affected.
The Long March will start at the end of January 2023 in Berlin, and will stop by several cities. If you are interested in participating and organizing an event or action together (information stand, demo, rally, etc.), you can contact us at the following email address: antiimperialistsc@protonmail.com
There is a petition for the abolition of the paragraphs 129, 129a and 129b StGB: https://www.change.org/p/weg-mit-dem-paragraphen-129a-b-stgb-ein-angriff-auf-unsere-demokratischen-rechte
You can find more information at: https://antiimperialiststruggle.noblogs.org/post/category/weg-mit-129/
INTERNATIONALISM IS THE STRONGEST WEAPON AGAINST IMPERIALISM AND FASCISM!
DOWN WITH THE PARAGRAPHS 129,129A AND 129B StGB!
FREEDOM FOR ÖZGÜL EMRE, İHSAN CİBELİK AND SERKAN KÜPELİ!
FREEDOM FOR ALL LEFT PRISONERS IN GERMANY AND WORLDWIDE!
BEING REVOLUTIONARY IS NOT A CRIME BUT A DUTY!
STOP THE CRIMINALIZATION OF ANTIFASCISTS IN GERMANY AND WORLDWIDE!
HAVE COURAGE TO FIGHT HAVE COURAGE TO WIN!
