– “It is time for a political change:
Away from fossil fuels – towards fairness” –
You can find this and other photos of the protest in high resolution here.
Berlin, September 17.09.2023, 11.00, XNUMX:XNUMX p.m. – On Sunday morning, several Last Generation supporters sprayed the six pillars of the Brandenburg Gate with orange warning paint using prepared fire extinguishers. At the same time, paint was spilled on Pariser Platz, through which some people subsequently ran, leaving glowing footprints on the square. The protest makes it clear: It is time for a political change: away from fossil fuels – towards fairness.
Marion Fabian (73), Last Generation spokesperson explains today's protest: “The Brandenburg Gate is Berlin's most famous landmark and, like no other monument in Germany, stands for great, hopeful turning points in history. Today we make it clear: We are here, there are more of us than ever before, and we will only end our protest once the change has been initiated. We have to get out of oil, gas and coal by 2030 at the latest. It is high time for Olaf Scholz to speak plainly.”
Julian Huber (19), Mathematics student, dumped a bucket full of orange paint under the Berlin landmark. Meanwhile, other Last Generation Humans had gathered there to distribute their glowing footprints. Julian explained: “The climate catastrophe is increasingly leaving its destructive mark on our everyday lives. It is time for us as the climate justice movement to leave our mark on politics and society. Everyone must now ask themselves: Do I want to act or stand idly by and watch as our livelihoods are destroyed?”
The peaceful protest is part of the so-called “turning point”: hundreds of people have come together in the capital since September 13th to initiate a turning point. The crowdfunding campaign “All for the turning point” only ended last Friday: the huge total of over 600.000 euros in donations shows the great support from the population. The sum enables the protest for an indefinite period of time - until the federal government presents a plan on how to successfully phase out fossil fuels by 2030 in a socially just manner.