– away from oil, gas and coal
Last generation road blockade on September 19.09.2023th, XNUMX.
You can find more photos of the protests in high resolution here.
Berlin, October 18.09.2023, 08 15:XNUMX a.m – To promote a shift away from oil, gas and coal and towards more justice, traffic blockades are taking place again today in Berlin's morning rush hour. Since 7 a.m., citizens have been peacefully taking to the streets in various places, including Badstrasse, Linzer Allee, Spandauer Damm, Torstrasse and Sonnenallee. Yesterday the first sit-ins took place, the police used painkillers and a house search took place in Berlin.
Rolf Meyer (56), spokesman for Last Generation, explains: “We are sitting on the streets in Berlin today - and if necessary for the next few months - because the irretrievably threatening, deadly hot period, which would last for thousands of years, can only be prevented in this decade. Our protests are disruptive, and they have to be, otherwise it would unfortunately not be heard that we now need an emergency program to end the use of oil, gas and coal by 2030."
Science agrees: the climate crisis is a threat to humanity and it is essential to act quickly and comprehensively. This is what it says in a clear warning from IPCC"The window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all is rapidly closing (…) The decisions made and actions taken in this decade will have an impact now and for thousands of years."[1]
Lea-Maria Rhein (22), speaker of the Last Generation, explains: “If the brakes are only pressed after we have already fallen down the cliff, then that is obviously too late. In this sense, Scholz's goal of making Germany climate-neutral by 2045 is set far too late, because the climate catastrophe is already escalating today - before all of us. Now is the time for a shift away from oil, gas and coal and towards more justice."
With a view to yesterday's Berlin traffic blockades Lea Maria Rhein firmly:
"Yesterday we showed that even a large contingent of 500 civil servants and plainclothes police officers, that even pain grips that are being used with new intensity by a few police units, that none of this can stop us. We are very pleased that we have experienced spontaneous support and gestures of solidarity to a previously unknown extent."
Yesterday, Monday, the first traffic blockades took place in Berlin as part of the indefinite Last Generation protests. In a first wave, attempts were made to disrupt traffic in around 30 locations, with at least 23 sit-ins being successful. Further protests took place throughout the morning, followed by a second and third wave of sit-ins from 13 p.m. and 14 p.m. The last blockades began at 16:30 p.m.
Yesterday, 71 Last Generation supporters were in police custody; none were held overnight.
A few police units used so-called pain grips. After the police officers warned that you could get up yourself, but otherwise you would feel pain, an extremely painful lever grip was actually applied to your wrists. Both the duration and the intensity of the pain inflicted were observed to a new extent. Some video documented cases can be found in this folder: drive.google.com/file/d/1Fv8-47YSF2w27wFI7y2mXa2YpSQa2V3E/view?usp=sharing
In his absence, the home of a Last Generation supporter was searched yesterday and glue was confiscated. Matt (25) explained: "When asked, the Berlin police refused to issue a search warrant or a reason for this search”[2].
[1] www.de-ipcc.de/media/content/Hauptaussagen_AR6-SYR.pdf , p.4
[2] x.com/AufstandLastGen/status/1703824380600438824?s=20