Rally for Ukraine’s Independence Day on 24 August 2023

Speeches at the rally

Speech by Prof. Thorsten Bonacker, Centre for Peace and Conflict Research, Marburg:

Dear members of the Ukrainian community, ladies and gentlemen,

I feel very honoured to be able to speak to you on such a day. Thank you very much for the invitation and the opportunity to celebrate this day with you.
The 24th of August 1991 is without question a day that marks the end of the Russian Empire – an empire that continued to exist under the flag of a supposedly anti-colonial Soviet Union and subjugated not only Ukraine but also the populations of the Baltic and Central Asian republics to Moscow’s dictates. That came to an end for Ukraine 32 years ago.
Despite numerous crises and wars that followed, it was possible at the time, at least for a short while, to gain the impression that what we had seen in many other parts of the world in the 20th century was happening in the territory of the Soviet Union. That sovereign states were replacing imperial and colonial oppression. This naturally presupposes that the former colonial power respects this independence, even if it does so grudgingly. Russia has never really done this and, shortly afterwards, openly used force to maintain control over territories of the former Soviet Union. Since 2014, it has openly questioned Ukraine’s sovereignty and integrity and annexed Ukrainian territories in violation of international law. Putin is pursuing nothing less than the restoration of an imperial Russia that has never ceased to exist in his imagination. However, this betrays a dramatic loss of touch with reality, because Russia has neither the means nor the power to restore its empire. All efforts to achieve this by means of violence, war and terror are doomed to failure in the face of what we have been witnessing everywhere since February last year: solidarity with Ukraine and its struggle to defend its independence against Russian aggression!
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The full text of the speech can be found here.

Speech by Peter Reckling, Pulse of Europe Marburg:

The war in Ukraine is not only a war in Europe, but also against Europe. Against the people of Ukraine – that is 40 million Europeans – and against Europe’s values: freedom, democracy, the rule of law.
We at Pulse of Europe have always taken to the streets when Europe was in danger. When populists ran for national elections in EU member states and Europe was threatened from within. Now Europe is under attack from outside, with missiles and tanks!
Vitali Klitschko, Mayor of Kiev: ‘Here in Ukraine, democracy is being defended. Here in Ukraine, Europe is being defended.’
Ukraine’s accession to the EU?
Ukraine has had candidate status for EU membership since June 2022, along with other countries such as Moldova. But countries in the Balkans, Turkey and Georgia are also candidates for accession, in most cases for many years.
The political criteria are: institutional stability, democratic and constitutional order, respect for human rights and respect for and protection of minorities. The rule of law naturally also includes the fight against corruption.
The invasion of Ukraine and the Russian government’s increasingly imperialist policy are changing the situation in the EU: the accession of the countries in the Balkans and Eastern Europe is strategically important in order to counteract the influence of Russia’s aggressive imperialist policy.
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The full text of the speech can be found here.

Speech by Hubert Kleinert, spokesperson for the Zeitenwende Marburg initiative:

Dear residents of Marburg, dear Ukrainian friends,

We have gathered here to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of Ukrainian independence together with our Ukrainian friends. It has been exactly 32 years since the parliament of the then still existing Ukrainian Soviet Republic decided to embark on the path to state independence. On 1 December 1991, the Ukrainian people confirmed this path in a referendum.

Thirty-two years ago, many people in Germany were unsure where an independent Ukraine would end up. As everywhere in the West, there were great fears about what would happen after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Chaos, war, huge waves of refugees, the transfer of nuclear weapons to terrorists – these were some of the fears.

None of this happened at first. And when the Budapest Memorandum was signed in December 1994, in which Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom jointly guaranteed Ukraine’s independence and territorial integrity, it seemed that the conditions were in place for Ukraine’s peaceful development and for a partnership with its Russian neighbours.

Since 2014 at the latest, we know that those currently in power in Moscow are no longer interested in Russia’s signature from 1994. For Putin, the Budapest Memorandum is nothing more than a scrap of paper. With the annexation of Crimea and Russia’s barely concealed attack in eastern Ukraine in the spring of 2014, it was already clear that Russia’s commitment to Ukraine’s state independence and territorial integrity no longer existed. And Putin himself said and wrote many times before 2022 that there was no such thing as a Ukrainian nation. We in the West should have listened more closely back then, and we should have listened more closely.
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The full text of the speech can be found here.