Kaiserslautern, Germany - June 22, 2024

Storyline:
Protesters from Germany, Austria, and France rallied in the southwestern German city of Kaiserslautern on Saturday, demanding the closure of the Ramstein Air Base of the U.S. Air Force nearby, and urging Western countries to pursue peaceful solutions to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Later in the day, nearly 1,000 protesters gathered at the downtown area of Kaiserslautern. Delivering speeches and singing peaceful songs, the protesters condemned the moves of the U.S. and other Western powers to escalate the war and impact regional stability and peace.

They said that since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine started in February 2022, the United States has been gradually upgrading its military support for Ukraine, leading to a prolonged and intensified situation. Besides, the protesters charged that the U.S. has been stirring up regional tensions in recent years, causing significant harm to European countries.

They called on all parties involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict to engage in negotiations and resolve the crisis by diplomatic means.

Built in 1951, the Ramstein Air Base, located in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, is NATO's largest air base in Europe, and also, the base of the U.S. Air Force in Europe. Led by the U.S., the base plays a critical role in relaying all drone signals for the United States. From 2009 to 2015, the U.S. launched 473 attacks outside war zones in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria, mainly drone attacks, causing a great number of civilian deaths.

Shotlist:
Kaiserslautern, Germany - June 22, 2024:
1. Various of protesters, placards;
2. Badge reading "I want peace" in German;
3. Various of protester Mona Aranea speaking on stage;
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Mona Aranea, protester:
"The permission that NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance) states are giving Ukraine to attack Russian targets in Russia with NATO weapons, with weapons delivered from Germany, from the U.S., from NATO states. This permission is an escalation of this war. This is not an escalation that is coming from Russia, but it is an escalation that is coming from the West, from Western countries.";
5. Protester speaking on stage;
6. Phone filming protester speaking on stage;
7. Protesters; flags, placards;
8. SOUNDBITE (German) Pascal Luig, protester:
"Major powers and the warring parties must now sit at the negotiating table and resolve this conflict through diplomacy. We have many diplomats in Europe, but they are not communicating with each other, which is a dangerous situation. [If this conflict is not resolved through negotiations,] it will continue to escalate and will not stop.";
9. Various of protesters; flags, placards.

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