Madrid (EFE).- Hundreds of people have demonstrated this Saturday in Madrid in favor of peace in Ukraine and against Russian President Vladimir Putin and NATO, and have demanded the end of the war through a way ” peaceful” that does not contribute to the “warmongering escalation” that, as they maintain, both Russia and the Atlantic Alliance promote.
Convened by the Popular Assembly against the war, which integrates dozens of collectives, organizations and unions such as the CGT, CRT or Contracorriente, the protesters have marched from the Plaza de Callao to tour the center of the capital until they reach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a claim that falls on the first anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, after years of military tension.
The protesters have marched from the Plaza de Callao to tour the center of the capital until they reach the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a demand that is located on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, on February 24, 2022, after years of military tension.
During the protest, led by a banner with the message “No to war: Russian troops out of Ukraine, no to NATO intervention”, attendees have chanted chants such as “Military budgets for schools and hospitals”, “Not even Putin nor NATO; no to war” or “They are not progressive, they are militarists”, and they have carried signs with slogans such as “Just Peace” or “Death to war”.
Lucía Nistal, spokesperson for the People’s Assembly against the war, has stressed in statements to journalists that the reason for the protest is “to say very clearly that neither Putin nor NATO, that we are not against the war and that we are against the warmongering budgets” , while it has censored the shipment of ten Leopard tanks to Ukraine announced by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, during his trip to Kiev this Thursday.
“We understand that escalating militarily, escalating with sanctions, escalating by sending weapons and also money only contributes to the lengthening of the war and in the end there are more deaths, displacements and crises that we also pay for in the Spanish State”, he has argued.
In his opinion, the solution to the conflict cannot be found “with a negotiation between the same actors that have brought us to this point” but through “the working class independently”, while defending an “internationalist” position. to put an end to the war escalation.
Along the same lines, the co-spokesperson for Unidas Podemos in the Madrid Assembly, Alejandra Jacinto, has advocated for a “necessary” ceasefire to end what she has described as a “massacre” and also with the “pain” that is assuming the “unjust war” for the Ukrainian people.
“Today, more than ever, I think we have to redouble our efforts to bet on this ceasefire, to establish diplomatic channels and to stop the pain and the bleeding of people who are dying as a result of this war” , has told journalists before affirming that since his political formation he will continue to bet on “redoubling” efforts to achieve the “necessary channels of dialogue” to end the war.
