A rock festival, with the expected spectator turnout of about 50,000, will be held in Berlin’s Treptower Park in September. The Russian Foreign Ministry expressed concern about the intention of Berlin officials to give permission to host the entertainment events at a memorial site.
"I do not want to think that modern Germany does not pay tribute to our soldiers; I do not want others to think that Germany has lost all gratitude to its liberators. Up to this point, we had no reason to doubt Germany’s official position on the issue. At the same time, we need to draw attention to this. The Russian Embassy in Berlin has initiated a joint letter from the ambassadors of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan addressed to the mayor of the Treptow-Koepenick district and the Governing Mayor of Berlin, demanding that they choose another venue for the event. But judging by the initial response, and also based on the fact that the preparations for the festival are at an advanced stage now, we can conclude that the authorities have almost decided to hold the concert at the site ", the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Maria Zakharova, said.
She recalled that recently the authorities of the Italian city of Monte Cassino organized a Christmas market in the immediate proximity of the Polish military cemetery, but the market was dismantled at the Polish Embassy’s request. "Please note that the event was not even held at the memorial site, just in its vicinity – these are two different things. We also hope most grown people can understand the difference between a Christmas market and a rock concert. We ask and urge the Berlin authorities to reconsider their decision. This move is absolutely unacceptable for us. We ask you to look at the experience of your European counterparts, where I think you could find a successful example of compromise. We believe that such activities at memorial sites are unacceptable and essentially amount to dancing on graves. Treptower Park is one of the most emblematic memorials to fallen Soviet soldiers, "Zakharova said.
