More than 250 climate activists yesterday formed their “biggest blockade yet” in Berlin, “paralysing” the city’s traffic in an attempt to secure new commitments from the government. Police placed around 50 of the “Letzte Generation” (Last Generation) demonstrators into custody, but these have all since been freed, according to Welt.
With its members released and their demands covered widely in the press, it is no wonder that the group saw the day as a success. Spokeswoman Aimée van Baalen said that even “our highest expectations were significantly exceeded.” Ahead of the planned event, Letzte Generation, which wants the Reichstag to submit a detailed plan for how it will meet temperature-limiting targets, declared that “we no longer accept that the government has no plan to stop the destruction of our livelihoods. We’re resisting now!”
The action—described by Bild as a “cat-and-mouse game” between demonstrators and law enforcers—began at around 7 a.m. local time, and saw dozens of blockades across the city. Individuals (118, according to police) glued their hands to roads to prevent traffic from moving. Heavy equipment in some cases had to be used to aid with their removal, causing damage to roads. At least four police officers were also injured as a result of their efforts.
In some cases, vehicles were also used to prevent roads from moving. Welt reports that 17 ambulances were stuck in the traffic caused by the demonstrations, while the Berlin fire brigade noted that “in seven cases, our emergency services were on their way to the scene of the emergency.” Local traffic centres warned of “massive” disruption, with jams lasting for up to two hours, and bus routes had either to be diverted or cancelled.
One disrupted local told reporters:
This is just unbelievable, does everyone have to suffer because of them … It’s chaos everywhere, the whole city is in chaos, just lock them up!
Interior Senator Iris Spranger also commented that “these are of course things that are not good, because they help people who actually need our help less.”
Police did remove some activists from roads, before taking them into “preventative detention.” Video footage shared online also shows frustrated citizens leaving their stationary vehicles and dragging the protesters to the road sides. Such events have been replicated across Europe over recent months, with what appears to be increasing regularity.
