climate protest
Brunch in the church and “creative forms of peaceful protest”: This is how the last generation wants to paralyze Berlin
Members of the Last Generation group at a street blockade in Berlin. The movement has announced a series of such actions for April
© Paul Zinken / DPA
The last generation has been planning a major climate protest in Berlin for weeks. Now the activists have presented their plans. There is not much that is new.
with Johanna Juergens
The climate activists of the last generation want to paralyze Berlin. “Bringing the city to a standstill to get the government to move,” is the plan. At a press conference in the St. Thomas Church in Berlin, the movement explained exactly how this should work. “We brought people from all over the country on board and trained them in peaceful resistance,” said climate activist Irene von Drigalski. From this week on, brunch will take place every Wednesday in Berlin churches, where interested parties and volunteers can meet report for the protest actions can.
A meeting at the Brandenburg Gate is planned for Sunday afternoon, before the whole city is to be “peacefully brought to a standstill” from Monday. The last generation kept a low profile on the forms of protest, such as whether there would be street blockades or demonstrations. But “all creative forms of peaceful protest would occur,” it said. The protest actions are planned indefinitely. Last generation spokeswoman Carla Rochel spoke to “T-Online”. in advance of portest marches and blockades.
Rescue workers would be informed about blockages. The activists announced that the protests would only end when the federal government appointed the Community Council or presented a plan to achieve the 1.5-degree target. Among other things, they demand a speed limit of 100 km/h on the motorway and a permanent 9-euro ticket for buses and trains.
The movement has been mobilizing for weeks on its website for the planned protest actions. At least 700 fellow campaigners are to paralyze the federal capital, the announcement said. So far, 800 people have registered for the protest via the website, it said at the press conference. The “extensive protest actions” should initially concentrate on the Berlin government district. In the coming weeks, the actions should then expand to the entire city. The climate protest in Berlin should last until May, the last generation announced in advance on its website.
Last generation attracts criticism
The activists have already been criticized for their planned climate protest. FDP General Secretary Bijan Djir-Sarai spoke out in favor of preventing the actions. He doubts that the activists could mobilize society for climate protection with illegitimate actions such as vandalism and property damage. “This is also why we must succeed in stopping the blockades that have been announced. The rule of law must be defensive and must not allow individual radical groups to carry out illegal actions on a large scale,” Djir-Sarai told the newspapers of the Bayern media group. Critics have long complained that the climate movement is becoming increasingly radical.
Critical tones have also recently come from the Fridays for Future movement. “The climate crisis needs solutions for society as a whole, and we can only find and fight for them together and not by pitting people against each other in everyday life,” said spokeswoman Annika Rittmann of the German Press Agency.
Fridays for Future has always relied on other forms of protest for good reason, said spokeswoman Rittmann. The blockades of the last generation in Hamburg have recently affected commuters in particular, “who can neither afford to live in Hamburg’s city center nor use public transport due to the lack of expansion. Something similar is to be feared in Berlin.”
According to surveys, many citizens also reject the forms of protest of the last generation. In November, four out of five respondents to a Civey study said actions like road blockades do more harm than good to climate protection.
The Pace study by the University of Erfurt shows that people are not necessarily averse to climate protection. For this purpose, 1000 people were interviewed. While people distance themselves from the Last Generation because of the disruptive maneuvers or turn away altogether, they support the group Fridays for Future. The researchers write that this will be evaluated less radically.