Because of acute danger to life
Climate activist must end hunger strike
May 18, 2024, 5:49 p.m
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After a month without solid food, Michael Winter’s condition deteriorates so much that he breaks off his hunger strike. With the campaign he wanted to persuade Olaf Scholz to make a clear climate statement. However, the Chancellor is apparently more willing to accept deaths, according to Winter’s summary.
A participant in the Berlin climate hunger strike broke off the action due to acute danger to his life. 61-year-old Michael Winter said he decided to start eating again after 31 days. He had been in a Munich clinic since Wednesday with heart problems. Doctors had diagnosed a life-threatening health condition. However, other participants in the “Starve until you are honest” campaign want to continue.
According to their own statements, the climate activists want to persuade Chancellor Olaf Scholz to make a government statement on the excessive concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the urgency of changing course. According to a government spokesman, Scholz does not want to meet the demands of the activists.
Winter explained: “My personal conclusion is that I have put my life at risk enough to be able to conclude that Olaf Scholz would rather accept deaths than tell people the truth about the climate catastrophe.” He would now rather take responsibility for his family instead of “paying the ultimate price for the greater good.”
Five more people on hunger strike
The activist Wolfgang Metzeler-Kick, who has not been eating solid food since March 7th but only juices, electrolytes and vitamins, wants to continue his hunger strike. He explained: “I don’t want to die. But I’m prepared to put my life on the line so that the population learns the truth about the drama of the climate catastrophe. Whether through my death or through a government statement from the Chancellor, I’ll put that in Hands of Olaf Scholz.”
According to the “Hunger until you are honest” campaign, four other people are on hunger strike in addition to Metzeler-Kick. They live in a camp near the Federal Ministry of Economics in Berlin.