Ladies and gentlemen,

On December 12, 2012 you shall take under consideration the request of the Federal Government for the purpose of the "sending of German armed forces to reinforce the integrated air defense of NATO (NATINADS) at the request of Turkey on the basis of the right to collective self-defense (Article 51 of the Charter of the United Nations) and the decision of the North Atlantic Council of December 4, 2012."

Although Syria has no intention to attack Turkey, but instead must defend itself from armed troops that enter Syria from Turkey, and since missiles are unsuitable to combat them, the German Foreign Minister has provided the specious grounds that the Patriot missile defense systems serve the "protection of Turkey against possible missile attacks from Syria." The NATO member Turkey notoriously projects itself as the protector of the so-called "Free Syrian Army," allowing the smuggling of their weapons over the Turkish border into Syria, and thus providing them intelligence and logistical support. To base this support on the right to collective self-defense is improper under the circumstances and a pretext to disguise Turkey's participation in the war. To provide the desired weapons systems would mean that Germany would cross a line in the undeclared war against Syria from its recent role of supporting the manipulation from afar of the gang skirmishes to its own active military intervention as a warring party.

The military alliance with Turkey and with the NATO-member-supported terrorist gangs cannot be separated from another action, for which the Bundestag is not, however, being consulted: The proposal by the federal government for weapons shipment of several hundred "Boxer" armored vehicles and "Leopard 2" battle tanks to Saudi Arabia directly supports the second sponsor of the terrorist groups fighting under the flag of the "Free Syrian Army."

By these actions, Germany runs the risk of being further involved in a war that can now be characterized as a proxy war of powers in the region and beyond, and which creates the risk of a far greater armed conflict.

In this context, we refer to our Petition No. 37867 of November 15, 2012. Since it has not been published, but only "forwarded to the relevant ministries for review," we would like to inform you of its content and the urgent need for its consideration with respect to international law.

Text of the petition

We are filing an appeal against the following: The Minister of Foreign Affairs and other federal agencies, in violation of international law and of the German Constitution, are interfering in the internal affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic, in particular by supporting internal and external enemies of the legitimate Syrian government, including armed groups.

Grounds for the appeal

Regarding the facts, we note

- That a spy ship of the German navy stationed along the Syrian coast, with the help of acoustic and optical sensors, is collecting information that is then passed on to the armed groups;

- That Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which deploy armed groups into Syria, will be strengthened as regional military powers through the delivery of German tanks;

- That Turkey, from which the armed groups are freely moving into Syria, will be assured official recognition and solidarity;

- That they by their own admission have invited  representatives of Syrian opposition groups to Berlin, with the major costs financed from the budget of the Chancellor's Office, to discuss "the time after Assad [falls]";

- That the federal government other governments have urged economic sanctions against Syria to weaken the Syrian people in their resistance against the aggression and to persuade them to revolt against the government;

- That German diplomacy openly refuses to participate together with the Security Council members Russia and China and other countries to work out a solution to the internal conflict, by both sides (!) renouncing violence and reaching a political understanding.

These activities by federal authorities

- In their entirety in consideration of international law, represent aggression. For according to the resolution of the UN General Assembly on December 14,  1974, not only is  "sending armed bands, groups, irregulars or mercenaries by a State or on its behalf" evaluated as aggression under international law, but also an "essential involvement," as has been indicated by the facts identified above;

- It is thus in violation of the prohibition of aggression (Article 2, paragraph 4 UN Charter) and also the requirement to work for peaceful resolution of conflicts (Article 2 Paragraph 3 UN Charter). They are evidence of outright defiance of the principle of sovereign equality of states (Article 2, paragraph 1 UN Charter) and the prohibition of interference in the internal affairs of another state (Article 2, paragraph 7 UN Charter);

- Thus they undermine the basic standards of international law, which by Article 25 of the Constitution are among the "general rules of international law" and thus "part of the federal law." That is to say: "They shall take precedence over the laws and directly create rights and duties for the inhabitants of the federal territory";

- Finally, they violate the fundamental need of the German people to live in peace and security, which is reflected in the fact that, under Article 26, paragraph 1 of the Constitution: "Acts acts tending to and undertaken with the outlook of disrupting peaceful relations between nations, especially to prepare for carrying out a war of aggression, are unconstitutional. They constitute a punishable offense."

We ask you to consider the aforementioned facts and by your own initiatives become active regarding the upholding of international law and maintaining strict German neutrality in this conflict.

All who vote in favor of Patriot deployment in Turkey and the delivery of tanks to Saudi Arabia are supporting the intensification of the war against Syria and the threats of war against Iran.

All who vote in favor are promoting a war policy that eventually can pose the danger of world war.

Sincerely yours

Klaus Hartmann
(National Chairman of the German Freethinkers Association)