"Last Generation": Sociologist accuses Merz of prejudice
Created: 2022-11-27Updated: 2022-11-27 11:59 am
By: Teresa Toth
Even days after their protest at BER Airport, the "Last Generation" is still receiving harsh criticism.
However, there is encouragement from others as well.
Berlin/Frankfurt – The protest group “Last Generation” attracted a lot of attention with its disruptive action at the capital’s BER airport.
Few, however, talk about the fight against climate change.
Instead, numerous politicians criticize the risky actions of climate activists.
On Thursday (November 24) they gained access to the grounds of the capital's BER airport and temporarily paralyzed air traffic.
Some of them got stuck on the tarmac.
The airport temporarily stopped operations on both runways, five take-offs had to be canceled according to the airport.
Last Generation Protest: Actions like this must not be trivialized
After CDU leader Friedrich Merz had already described the participants in the BER campaign as "criminal offenders" and called for criminal law to be tightened, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also firmly condemned the protest campaign.
At the state party conference of the SPD Brandenburg in Cottbus, he explained that he simply could not understand the action.
"They are not only incomprehensible, but also extremely dangerous, as one could see clearly, for example, with the activities at BER," said the Chancellor.
Climate activists from the group "Last Generation" regularly attract attention with protest actions.
Activists often glue themselves to streets with superglue to block traffic.
© Carsten Koall/dpa
Brandenburg's Prime Minister Dietmar Woidke (SPD) shares this opinion.
He told the Märkische Allgemeine Zeitung
that the rule of law must and will act.
"We must not trivialize such incidents." At the latest with the action at BER, a limit was crossed in that the activists consciously accepted the risk to people and structures in order to generate attention - climate protection is not conducive to this.
"Last Generation" protest at BER Airport: Civil disobedience is important
Federal Justice Minister Marco Buschmann and Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (both FDP) also sharply criticized the climate activists involved in the campaign.
"Anyone who violently cuts through a fence, enters an airfield and obstructs air traffic there is liable to prosecution in several respects," said Buschmann of the
picture on Sunday
.
"Violence as a means of political disputes has no place in a democracy."
Left leader Martin Schirdewan, on the other hand, advocates taking the concerns of climate activists seriously.
Although the activists sometimes annoy him with their actions, civil disobedience is “an important part of the political culture as long as no one is harmed.” Instead of discussing tightening criminal law, it is important “that we talk about the actual Talk about the problem and that is climate change," said the head of the left on
Deutschlandfunk
.
“Last generation” protest: Punishment fantasies are more dangerous than action itself
Minister of Agriculture Özdemir (Greens) also showed understanding for the anger of the young people.
Nevertheless, he criticized the blockade of BER airport and warned that climate activists should not switch off their minds.
Green leader Omid Nouripour also criticized the daring action.
He stressed to the
world
that it could not be accepted if lives were endangered and people could not go on vacation.
He could understand everyone who was "hyperannoyed" by it.
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According to the sociologist Matthias Quent, the sometimes violent reactions from politicians are much more worrying than the action itself - above all the sharp prejudices by Merz.
The form of protest chosen by the “last generation” is “mild compared to other protests,” the sociologist told the
dpa
news agency, referring to riots like the 2017 G20 summit in Hamburg .
"Authoritarian backlash and fantasies of punishment are more dangerous to democratic culture than the brief disruptive actions themselves."
CDU leader Friedrich Merz condemns the latest protest action by the "last generation".
© Carsten Koall/dpa
Protests by climate activists from the group “Last Generation” continue on December 5th
Maurice Conrad, Mainz climate activist and author of "We're on strike until you act", also thinks it's nonsensical that the climate activists are now being portrayed as the worst criminals.
“Just a reminder: the 'climate terrorists' don't march through the republic with torches, they don't hunt down migrants and they don't send threatening letters either.
They demand that politicians do their homework.
Nothing more,” Conrad said on Twitter.
In Bavaria, meanwhile, 19 activists of the "last generation" were released from police custody after a tape action in Munich.
One had come to the conclusion "that the conditions for detention are no longer met, i.e. that further criminal offenses by those in detention are not to be expected, at least not for the time being," said a spokesman for the Munich police headquarters.
On Saturday (November 26), the group announced that the protest would resume on Monday (December 5) in Munich "with more people against the deadly business as usual".
(tt/dpa)
