THE German Communist Party (DKP) has called for street mobilisations across the country to mark World Peace Day tomorrow, warning the government against increased militarisation.

It has criticised the German government’s recent decision to send troops to Afghanistan amid the chaos unfolding there since the Taliban seized power earlier this month.

“The deployment of the armed forces at the airport in Kabul and probably in other places in Afghanistan is an armed combat mission. That is clear. It is also clear that this is not a mandate from the United Nations,” a party statement said.

While the mission was expectedly supported in a Bundestag vote by the ruling centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the DKP was critical of the role of the left-wing Linke party: just seven of its 69 MPs voted against the troop deployment, with the rest either abstaining or voting in favour.

The behaviour of Die Linke was, however, no “slip-up,” the communists charged, saying that the actions were “the sealing of the farewell to its role as the parliamentary arm of the peace movement — no more and no less.”

Germans head to the polls next month in the first general election since Angela Merkel announced she was stepping down from politics after 16 years as chancellor.

Her replacement as CDU-CSU alliance candidate, Armin Laschet, has seen his support slipping, with the latest polls showing him on 21 per cent. 

SPD candidate Olaf Scholtz is ahead, on 24 per cent, the first time his party has led the CDU in polling in 15 years. 

The Green Party, which had been tipped to do well, trails in third place on 17 per cent, while Die Linke remains on 6 per cent, just above the 5 per cent threshold needed for representatives to be elected.

The DKP, initially excluded from the poll in a move backed by Die Linke, is now fielding a number of candidates after the ban was overturned last month.

“The DKP remains a 100 per cent anti-war party: we say peace with Russia and China, get out of Nato,” the party said.

It called for “anti-war actions” across the country tomorrow, highlighting Germany’s increasingly aggressive military interventions.

“This year’s Anti-War Day is marked by drastically increased military spending by the German government, military manoeuvres by the armed forces on the border of Russia and German warships in the Indo-Pacific. 

“The imperialist states are becoming more and more aggressive. They openly threaten military attacks, such as United States President Joseph Biden, who recently threatened a war against China as a possible retaliation for hacker attacks. 

“The danger of war is growing. All the more important that we take our protest against rearmament, militarisation and war to the streets,” the DKP said.