Dhe CDU chairman Friedrich Merz has sharply condemned the recent disruptive action by the climate protest group “Last Generation” at the capital’s BER airport. “These are not climate activists, they are criminals,” said Merz on Saturday at a party conference of the Berlin CDU.
“It no longer has anything to do with the right to demonstrate or freedom of expression. It’s pure vandalism,” he said. “These are the most serious crimes that discredit the goal for which they are supposedly going to the airport.” The group, which has recently repeatedly blocked roads, is achieving the opposite of what they actually claim to want to achieve.
According to the federal police, two groups gained access to the grounds of the capital’s BER airport on Thursday. A “Last Generation” video showed activists snapping through a fence at the airport and entering the grounds. Some of them glued themselves to the ground. The airport temporarily halted operations on both runways. According to the airport, five starts had to be cancelled. 15 planned landings were therefore diverted to Leipzig and Dresden.
Merz recalled that the Union in the Bundestag had proposed increased penalties for such actions, “even under threat of imprisonment for the second time at the latest”. He knows, according to Merz, that most people don’t get better in prison. “But the time they sit there is quiet outside.”
Church President: “Don’t just criminalize”
In sharp contrast to the theses of the CDU chairman, the Hesse-Nassau church president Volker Jung defended the climate activists. They should “not simply be criminalized,” said Jung on Friday before the church synod meeting in Offenbach. They are “young people who are deeply moved and very consciously choosing the path of peaceful civil disobedience” to warn of the life-destroying consequences of global warming.
In addition, they repeatedly reflected on the proportionality of their protest measures, the church president added. He considers the church dialogue with the “last generation” not only “desirable” but “mandatory”. The climate activists had been heavily criticized for road blockades, color attacks on famous paintings and most recently for paralyzing flight operations at Berlin Airport.
In front of the 120 delegates from the Evangelical Church in Hesse and Nassau (EKHN), Jung also supported the demands of the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) for a speed limit on German roads. It is about promoting a voluntary commitment to comply with a speed limit of 100 kilometers per hour on motorways and 80 kilometers per hour on country roads when driving in a church context.
Jung emphasized that it was important for the church to deal “intensively with the challenges of climate protection” because of its message, which also includes the mandate to cooperate in the preservation of creation. This also includes mobility. It’s not about installing a “climate police” on the autobahn, but about consciously dealing with climate protection and taking action yourself.
Last activists released from custody
In Munich, meanwhile, 19 climate activists who were involved in tape actions have been released from police custody. “We are constantly required to check the conditions for custody,” said a spokesman for the Munich police headquarters on Saturday. “As a result, on Friday afternoon we came to the conclusion that the conditions for detention are no longer met, i.e. that further criminal offenses by those in custody are not to be expected, at least for the time being.”
The background is apparently that the “Last Generation” announced on Friday after the protest action at Berlin Airport that it would initially refrain from further actions in Berlin and Munich. Because the release order was not issued until Friday evening after the situation had been reassessed, the 19 activists – including six women – stayed in Stadelheim prison overnight after consultation with those affected before they were released on Saturday morning. This means that all climate activists who were last in custody in Munich are free again. “There were people who had been in custody for a long time, but also some who had only been in custody for a short time,” explained the police spokesman.
One of the men was on a hunger strike, but police said he was not in critical condition, so he was released early with the others. Otherwise, according to the current status, some activists would have had to remain in custody until December 2nd. The men and women wanted to draw attention to the destruction of the environment and climate change with their sticking activities. Actions of this kind have also attracted a great deal of attention in other cities in Germany in recent weeks and triggered political debates.
According to the Bavarian Police Responsibilities Act, citizens can be detained for up to a month on the basis of a judicial decision in order to prevent the commission of an administrative offense of considerable public importance or a criminal offence. This period can be extended by a maximum of one additional month.
