Police arrest 13 activists
Last generation sprayed Brandenburg Gate
September 17, 2023, 1:57 p.m
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The last generation repeatedly resorts to spectacular color attacks. Now the climate activists are spraying the Brandenburg Gate. Dozens of police officers are on site. Governing Mayor Wegner is outraged and sees the “free discourse” damaged.
Members of the climate protection group Last Generation sprayed the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin with orange paint. All six pillars are affected. A police spokesman said around 40 emergency services were on site. There were 13 arrests and the authorities are investigating damage to property that is harmful to the public. The police cordoned off a large area around the Berlin landmark.
A number of passers-by reacted negatively to the action. The Last Generation said the protest was “part of the so-called turning point”. To initiate this, hundreds of people have come to Berlin since last Wednesday.
Last Generation said prepared fire extinguishers were used during the color campaign. At the same time, paint was spilled on Pariser Platz in front of the Berlin landmark. The climate activists also wanted to carry out the color campaign at the Brandenburg Gate from a pallet truck. However, police officers prevented this.
Wegner criticizes the action
Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner sharply criticized the color attack. The landmark is a symbol of Berlin as a city of freedom. “A city that also stands for freedom of expression and fair debates about our future,” said the CDU politician. “With these actions, this group is not only damaging the historic Brandenburg Gate, but also our free discourse about the important issues of our time and future.”
The protest group’s actions are not legitimate protests, but rather illegal damage to property and criminal offenses. In doing so, they are doing the important issue of climate protection a disservice. “Those who are serious about climate protection must distance themselves from these actions and this group,” demanded the CDU politician.
The Last Generation has announced new weeks of action, from this Monday there will be road blockades in the capital again. The police explained that they wanted to react quickly and observe well-known intersections and motorway exits early on. The latest activities in the capital began last Wednesday with a protest march with several hundred participants, which also led to road blockades near the main train station.
Regular color attacks in Berlin
In addition to road blockades, color attacks are a regular part of climate activists’ actions. In Berlin, members of the Last Generation defaced the Basic Law monument, among other things. The party headquarters of the traffic light government of the SPD, Greens and FDP were also the target of attacks, as were luxury shops on Kurfürstendamm and a private plane at the capital’s BER airport.
The group demands that Germany stop using fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas from 2030. The federal government is aiming for a climate-neutral economy by 2045. Since spring 2022, the Last Generation has been protesting in many German cities with road blockades in which participants stick themselves to the road. Drivers often react angrily and sometimes with violence. The demonstrators are regularly removed from the streets by police, and many have been convicted of coercion and other crimes.
The protest by climate activists has now led to 2,860 proceedings at the Berlin public prosecutor’s office, as the authority announced upon request. The majority of cases involve actions of the last generation.