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Stranded at Munich and Berlin airports today, the group says there is no break in Advent. He would even spend Christmas in jail for this.


At Munich Airport, where the temperature was around two degrees Celsius on Thursday morning, four activists stuck their hands on the asphalt. The banner of the climate protest group read: “What if the government doesn’t get it under control?” was writing.

They cut a fence with wire cutters before pinning themselves to the ground on a feed road off the north runway. Three other activists also tried this on the south runway, but were previously arrested by federal police.

Police talk about short-term airport disruptions

“Last Generation” was the first action at Munich Airport, after already blocking a city center street with asphalt earlier this week. Short-term injuries could not be prevented, and two hours later in the morning, the last activists were rescued from the asphalt and detained. However, there were no delays or cancellations.

This was the second action at Berlin Airport, this time the one where three members of “The Last Generation” were stranded. Air traffic was not affected here either.

Climate activists: “Nobody likes to do this”

Activists are aware of the high penalties. Carla Rochel, spokesperson for the group, told ZDF:

None of the residents there like to do that.

Carla Rochel, Spokesperson for “Last Generation”

He says they will do it anyway, with climate change in mind: “Because it’s unbearable to watch. We wish the federal government would take the first steps to stop this climate catastrophe.”

The group initially wants a 100 km/h speed limit on motorways and a 9 euro ticket.

Herrmann: The action is “blatant recklessness”

“We could live in a much better world where billions of people wouldn’t starve, where the world wouldn’t continue to warm,” said Rochel. In a ZDF interview, the 20-year-old knows the cuts are troubling, but says even nonviolent protests, by definition, must be destructive.

Bavarian Minister of the Interior Joachim Herrmann (CSU) spoke of “climate chaos” and denounced the action as “blatant recklessness”. Suspected of “dangerous interference with air traffic” and other crimes. The penalty here is up to ten years in prison. Herrmann also called for a review of security concepts at Munich Airport.

Social scientist: Many protests initially harshly criticized

The Bavarian Minister of State for Federal Affairs Florian Herrmann (CSU) has previously said that the rule of law must be upheld. Social scientist Prof. Ilona Otto points out that:

Many protests and social movements throughout history have been harshly criticized at first. For example, I think of the women’s movements, the protests against racism in the US, or the lesbian and gay movements.

Ilona Otto, University of Graz

Otto says it may take time for people to understand the goals of climate activists. Climate researchers such as Mojib Latif of the Hamburg Academy of Sciences described the type of protest as “reverse effect”.

‘The Last Generation’: No protest breaks at Christmas either

The climate protest group also did not announce a break for the Christmas season. “We can’t pretend everything is okay at Christmas,” says Rochel:

This is not possible because the time window is just closing. Because right now, more than ever, we need the federal government to act.

Carla Hinrichs, “Last Generation” Spokesperson

Even before the action at the airport, four activists were in Bavarian prisons. Many people said goodbye to Christmas with their families before the action at the airport.

ZDFheute recently asked how far the climate protest could go live:

Source: ZDF

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