As of: 09/20/2021 12:07 p.m.
Since the end of August, some activists have been on hunger strike in order to have a public discussion with the candidates for chancellor before the election – in vain. Now they have given Laschet, Baerbock and Scholz an ultimatum.
The climate activists on hunger strike in Berlin have given politicians a new ultimatum for talks – some of them don’t want to drink any more fluids if they ignore them. They called the top candidate of the Greens, Annalena Baerbock, as well as the top candidates of the CDU and SPD, Armin Laschet and Olaf Scholz, for another conversation until Thursday at 7 p.m., as the group announced.
If the politicians do not keep the appointment, the hunger strikers want to react differently. Some of the activists, who have been starving for more than three weeks, have threatened to step up their action in this case and also to stop drinking.
Chancellor candidates call for an end to the hunger strike
The other part of the group does not want to follow this “dry hunger strike”. “Should the three candidates for chancellor not even comply with our demand for communication even after almost four weeks of hunger strike, then the result is clear for us: the politicians have failed,” it said. At first it was unclear whether they wanted to continue the hunger strike as it was before – or whether they wanted to end the campaign altogether.
All three candidates for chancellor had asked the starving to break off their protest. Then they are ready for discussions, but after the federal election, individually and not in public.
Four other activists are on hunger strike
A group of six young adults started an indefinite hunger strike in front of the Reichstag building on August 30, and four others have joined them today, according to the group. Your goal is, on the one hand, to have a public discussion with the three candidates for chancellor about climate change before the general election. On the other hand, they are calling for a citizens’ council to be set up to give politicians immediate measures to protect the climate.
A 27-year-old has already had to be hospitalized twice, but wants to continue the hunger strike. Two other participants dropped out on the weekend for health reasons.