Hundreds of German and Arab intellectuals on Wednesday gathered in front of the Russian Embassy in Berlin to denounce the ongoing Russian aerial bombardment of Aleppo. The demonstration came in response to initiative by the Director of the International Festival of Literature in Berlin Ulrich Schreiber as well as 250 writers from 60 countries.
Hundreds of asylum seekers, Arab nationals, and Germans participated in the demonstration along with many German intellectuals and politicians, including Michael Naumann, former minister of culture, Omid Nouripour member of the German parliament (The Green Party), and Wolfgang Thierse, former head of the German Parliament.
It is a “disgrace” that the international community has been unable to alleviate the suffering in besieged eastern Aleppo, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday one day after Russia and China vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a seven-day cease-fire in the city.
“Aleppo is a disgrace,” Merkel said in a speech to her conservative Christian Democratic Union Party (CDU), slamming Russian and Iranian support for the bombardment by the Assad regime. “It is a disgrace that we have been unable to establish humanitarian corridors, but we must continue to fight for it,” Merkel added.
Demonstrators called for immediate halt to the Russian bombardment of Syria, holding placards reading: “Putin stop the bombardment now!” “Shame on Putin in Aleppo,” and “Russia get out of Syria!”
Aleppo and its countryside have been subjected to a ferocious onslaught by the Assad regime and Russian forces since November 15. Over 900 people, mostly women and children, have so far been killed and thousands more injured in the ongoing bombing campaign on the city and its countryside. (Source: Syrian Coalition’s Media Office + Agencies)
