Ari must stay – Save the Statue of Peace!

Since we brought Ari, the Statue of Peace to Berlin, it has become a symbol against sexualized violence. But now, it is at risk of being removed. The Japanese government, which refuses to acknowledge its crimes in the Asia-Pacific War, is doing everything it can to take Ari down. And it has found allies - even in German politics.

After a visit to Tokyo, Berlin's mayor, Kai Wegner, announced that Ari would be demolished on September 28, 2024. But that's not all: due to pressure from the Japanese government, our educational project “Sit next to me!” also had to stop. We are short of 89,000 euros (see coverage in taz and rbb). Even the district mayor, Stefanie Remlinger, has turned against us. She claims that Ari is not a monument and threatens us with drastic consequences if we don't remove it. She has now issued an order to remove the Statue by October 31, 2024. This contradicts our repeated offers to find a solution together.

But we will not give up! Over 40,000 people have signed our petition, and more than 3,000 people support our residents' application. Civil society stands with us - and we need your support too!

Our fight costs money, and we need to raise at least 9,500 euros by October 31, 2024. Of this, 5,000 euros will go toward legal fees to save our educational project and the Statue of Peace, Ari. We need a further 4,500 euros for events and campaigns to keep Ari visible. Additional donations will go directly to our educational work.

Time is running out. Help us with your donation so that Ari can stay, and we can continue to fight!

Note: In the event that more donations are received than needed, any surplus funds will be used for another statutory charitable purpose of Korea-Verband e.V.

Photo: Miyeon Choi