Cologne (epd). According to the police and organizers, around 250,000 people took part in the peace demonstration in Cologne against the Russian attack on Ukraine. The organizers drew a positive balance: “Cologne and the carnival showed today that everyone stands together when it matters,” said the President of the Cologne Carnival Festival Committee, Christoph Kuckelkorn, on Monday. “Today was not about boisterous celebrations, but about loud and colorful protests against the war in Ukraine.”
The demonstration for peace in Europe passed through downtown Cologne without incident, the police said. A spokeswoman for the city told the Evangelical Press Service (epd) that rescue workers were also deployed within the usual range.
The demonstration was led by a parody wagon with a dove of peace on it that had been built at short notice for the train. The Cologne Carnival Festival Committee had called for the demonstration on Shrove Monday. The event was also supported by Cologne artists and associations such as “Arsch Huh” and “Köln sich quer”. The Prime Minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst (CDU), also took part in the protest.
After the Russian attack on Ukraine, the Cologne Carnival festival committee canceled the Rose Monday procession originally planned in the Rheinenergie Stadium on Thursday and instead announced a peace demonstration. The satirical floats built for the Shrove Monday parade were set up at various locations in the city along the demonstration route. They can still be seen along the regular Shrove Monday train route until Tuesday noon.
At the opening rally on Chlodwigplatz, Cologne Mayor Henriette Reker (non-party) declared that she was depressed by the current events in Ukraine. “We here in Cologne will do everything in our power to avoid hatred, violence and dictatorship,” she emphasized. She feels “boundless admiration” for the people who demonstrated against the war in Russia. Reker also thanked all “courageous men and women in Ukraine who are maintaining non-violent resistance and who continue to feel connected to democracy”.
–
