The activists of the “Last Generation” block traffic in Berlin again. As early as Friday morning, they were stuck in several places on the city highway, as the group announced on Friday.
“A100 sealed for the third time this week,” tweeted the climate protectors, speaking of six places in Berlin where they were active. They justified this by saying that there had been no reaction from Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) so far. Under the motto “save oil instead of drilling”, the Scholz activist group is calling for new oil drilling to be stopped in the North Sea.
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According to the police, the exits Kaiserdamm, Kurt-Schumacher-Damm corner Heckerdamm and the Spandauer-Damm-bridge were affected since shortly after eight o’clock. The areas of Goerdelerdamm/Reichweindamm, Seestrasse and Messedamm were added later, a police spokesman said at noon.
At noon, the police were initially unable to say how many demonstrators were involved in the blockades. The people blocked the road, some were glued to the road, as was the case recently. The blockades sometimes led to major delays and traffic jams, the extent of which was initially unknown. The blockades had already been cleared around 10 a.m., the police spokesman said. Various demonstrators would be checked and their personal details recorded.
This time there were also two children among the blockers of the motorway, the announcement of the protests said. Upon request, the police spokesman confirmed at least one child involved. Around noon, the group reported that the police had taken the children off the A100 carriageway.
12-year-old Simeon said he was afraid his future and the future of all the children would be “really bad”. “I’m afraid that the adults, for example the chancellor, who should actually do everything to protect my future, don’t really understand how bad the climate catastrophe actually is, and therefore don’t do what is necessary.”
According to a statement from the group, 15-year-old Rebekka was already active in Fridays for Future. But that had little effect, she is quoted as saying. “That means I have no choice but to take to the streets now and actively disrupt to just bring about this change that we all need very badly,” she said.
The police union also reported the blockades via Twitter. “Of course, our colleagues have some cooking oil with them and would be happy if representatives of the rule of law distance themselves from these crimes,” commented press spokesman Benjamin Jendro. District Mayor Clara Herrmann signaled solidarity with the climate protectors on Thursday.
The climate protection initiative had blocked motorway exits and roads in Berlin and other cities in the past few months. Now she called for a central week of action in Berlin.
The activists blocked freeways again on Monday and Tuesday, and on Wednesday they smeared black paint on a wall of the Federal Chancellery. On Thursday there was a large sit-in at a central intersection in Berlin-Friedrichshain. Dozens of demonstrators have been temporarily arrested and released by the police in recent days.
There were also numerous motorway blockades in January and February. This led to more than 270 criminal charges and around 120 charges of administrative offenses in Berlin. In the meantime, the police have a mid-three-digit number of investigations, mostly due to coercion and resistance to police officers. So far, 65 procedures have been received by the public prosecutor, it was said recently.
