demonstration
Clashes during blockades after climate demos in Hamburg
Climate activists have occupied the railroad tracks of the Hamburg Port Authority. photo
© Markus Scholz/dpa
Climate activists are once again targeting Hamburg. They aim their actions there primarily at the port – and give a reason for this. The blockades are not always peaceful.
During the blockades by climate activists in Hamburg, there were clashes on Saturday. According to the police, participants in a blockade on the Kattwyk Bridge attacked the officers with pepper spray, to which they responded with pepper spray, batons and water cannons to break up the blockade.
A spokeswoman for “Ende Gelände” described the incident as “a new peak in police violence and arbitrariness against our climate protests”.
The activists are committed to more climate justice. They also blocked the Köhlbrandbrücke and, among other things, the railway tracks of the Hamburg port authority in the Hausbruch district. “We are blocking a central hub of German foreign trade here to draw attention to the consequences of modern colonialism,” said a statement from the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion about the occupation of the bridge at noon. According to the police, the other blockades were peacefully broken up.
Five lifts in the Hanseatic city had been announced for Saturday. Around 2,000 people set off from the Altonaer Volkspark during the first major demonstration in the morning. Although the Elbphilharmonie was originally planned as the destination, according to the police, the organizer ended the elevator at an intermediate rally at Altona station.
Hundreds of participants went from there towards the south of Hamburg. “The big oil and gas companies are profiteers from the crisis. While rising prices and fossil fuel inflation are becoming a risk of poverty for many people, the oil and gas industry is making billions in profits,” said the spokeswoman for the “Ende Gelände” organization.
The left-wing coalition “… all over the place!” already announced blockade actions in the morning. Among other things, there were calls to specifically interrupt supply chains in the port of Hamburg, the group said. One wants to “take the protest to the port of Hamburg, because it is not only a symbolic place, but also a critical point of capitalism,” said a spokeswoman.