German Peace campaigner Konni Schmidt in Littleborough

Rae Street with Konni Schmidt

Members of Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group were pleased to welcome veteran campaigner, Konni Schmidt to Rae Street's home in Littleborough on Thursday 29 September to hear more about current peace campaigning in Germany.

Mr Schmidt, a retired schoolteacher now campaigns with two organisations, Bike for Peace and New Energies, has undertaken a bike ride from Paris to Moscow each year for the past five years to promote and publicise peace and sustainable energy and is now planning a future ride from Paris to Hiroshima to highlight the dangers of nuclear weapons, while the Stop Ramstein campaign seeks the permanent closure of the giant US airbase in in Rhineland-Palatinate which is close to his home.

Philip Gilligan said: "Konni told us about the 5,000 people who had joined hands to surround the Ramstein base three months ago in June to protest about the use made of their region by the US airforce to pursue its disastrous military adventures.

“They want Ramstein to be a place known for promoting peace not a place being used to perpetrate war. Rochdale and Littleborough Peace Group wishes them well with their campaigns."