Enlarge image
Activists of the »Last Generation« (end of December in Munich)
Photo: IMAGO/Wolfgang Maria Weber
For the activists of the “Last Generation” group, Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) is one of the most important actors in the fight against the climate crisis – but is hardly doing enough.
With a new form of protest, they now wanted to bring traffic to a standstill in front of his ministry, but failed because the Berlin police quickly intervened.
In the early morning, a group of jackhammers positioned themselves in front of the Federal Ministry of Transport in Berlin and tried to damage Invalidenstrasse.
According to a police spokesman, the action could be stopped, so the road surface was not damaged.
According to the spokesman, three people were involved in the protest.
When the police officers arrived, the activists were in the process of connecting the jackhammers to power sources.
Videos of the "Last Generation" show the endeavor on Twitter.
»The everyday grind takes us straight to climate hell via freshly paved and solid roads.
We cannot allow that,” wrote the activist group.
"If we want to survive, we must finally tackle the climate catastrophe site together!" The group also announced that it would continue to "interrupt everyday life" in order to carry the resistance into all areas of society.
Addressed to Wissing and the FDP, the “Last Generation” warned that Germany would soon “irrevocably lose its freedoms as a result of the climate crisis, if rows of cities become uninhabitable, our economy collapses and we no longer have enough food”.
2200 criminal charges and 600 fine notices
Since the beginning of 2022, the "last generation" has been blocking motorway exits and intersections in Berlin and other major cities to fight for more climate protection.
There were also campaigns in museums, stadiums, ministries, at airports and on oil pipelines.
Among other things, the climate protectors smeared the protective glasses of famous works of art with mashed potatoes or tomato soup.
The message: human life must be protected more urgently than art.
In Berlin alone, according to the police, activists blocked streets around 276 times in 2022.
In addition, there were 42 other actions, some of which were criminal, by mid-December.
In total, there have already been 2,200 criminal charges and 600 fines in the capital.
The forms of protest are hardly popular with the population.
A large majority of Germans reject the traffic blockades and pollution.
mrc/dpa
