At their party conference on the Rhine, the Greens are trying to reconcile their pacifist tradition with their role as the governing party. It’s not easy.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock received a lot of encouragement for her policy at the federal party conference of the Greens in Bonn, but also had to take criticism. Above all, the approval of arms exports to the Islamic Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the initially somewhat cautious statements made by the German government about the massive protests in Iran met with incomprehension from some of the around 800 delegates on Saturday. The Greens expressed great solidarity with refugees from Afghanistan and the protesting women in Iran.
The Greens voted overwhelmingly in favor of supplying more arms to Ukraine. Delegates rejected several motions that criticized this as a departure from the party’s pacifist tradition. A party member had demanded: “We must put an end to more and more weapons for this war.” MEP Sergey Lagodinsky countered and referred to the right to self-defence. Referring to the party logo, he called out to the radical pacifists that the Ukrainians couldn’t “defend themselves with sunflowers.”
Yes to arms to Kyiv
In the Ukraine war, Germany must help wherever possible, “because we see that these weapons save lives,” said party leader Omid Nouripour. The co-founder of the Russian human rights organization Memorial, Irina Sherbakova, praised the cooperation with the Greens and called for support for Ukraine against Russia. Anyone who wants peace must ensure that Ukraine gets everything it needs to defend itself. A victory in Ukraine would also give Russia a chance to find democracy.
In the debate about arms exports, Baerbock said: “We don’t deliver directly to Saudi Arabia,” a country “where human rights are trampled on.” The approval for the export was difficult for you and Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens). But she is of the opinion that “we need European armaments cooperation” – also so that social spending does not have to be cut in favor of national defense spending. At the same time, she promised a more restrictive armaments policy for the future.
Criticism of arms delivery to Riyadh
Despite an extensive ban on exports, the traffic light government has given the go-ahead for the delivery of equipment and ammunition to Saudi Arabia worth 36 million euros. It is about a program with Italy, Spain and Great Britain. The old federal government had largely stopped arms exports to Saudi Arabia, partly because of the kingdom’s involvement in the Yemen war and the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The coalition agreement between the SPD, Greens and FDP states: “We will not issue export licenses for armaments to states as long as they can be shown to be directly involved in the Yemen war.”
“There is no need, there is no justification for arms deliveries to Saudi Arabia,” said Jenny Laube of the Berlin Green Party. In the end, a motion was passed in which the party states: “We are also aiming for a European arms export ban for Saudi Arabia and a European arms embargo on other countries, as long as they are demonstrably directly involved in the Yemen war.”
Balance so far “mixed at best”
Delegate Sascha Krüger noted that the new government’s foreign policy record so far has been “mixed at best.” After the start of the new “revolution” in Iran, the German government remained silent for too long and is not doing enough to prevent refugees from being sealed off at the EU’s external borders.
The Greens stand firmly by the side of the women-led protests in Iran, affirmed Nouripour, earning thunderous applause. Some delegates spoke of a feminist “revolution” in Iran.
On Sunday, the last day of the Green Party Congress, the topic of climate protection is on the agenda.
Source: Stern
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