“Over 40 activists arrested during climate protests in Berlin”

Status: 3:30 p.m | Reading time: 4 minutes

MSeveral roadblocks by the climate group “Last Generation” led to traffic jams and obstructions – also from several ambulances – on Berlin’s streets at the start of the week. On Monday morning, the police spoke of more than 30 actions in the city area where climate activists stood on the street, were stuck there or held banners. Traffic was temporarily paralyzed on the A100. Motorists were stuck in traffic jams between Dreieck Charlottenburg and Kreuz Schöneberg for up to two hours, as the traffic information center (VIZ) announced on Twitter.

The Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf area was a focal point. According to their own statements, the Berlin police want to be on the road with up to 500 officers in the city area to prevent or quickly end the blockades.

At Ernst-Reuter-Platz, the police sawed an activist off the road. She tried to pry off the sawn section with the activist. All other comrades-in-arms have already been carried away, initially only one lane was closed.

The climate group had announced that they wanted to try to paralyze the entire capital from Monday. “We no longer accept that this government does not abide by our constitution. We no longer accept that the government has no plan to stop the destruction of our livelihoods. We’re resisting now!” shared the Last Generation.

A spokesman for the Berlin fire brigade told WELT that in the course of the blockade by the “last generation” numerous ambulances have been hindered on mission trips. According to information from WELT, at least 15 ambulances are affected by the delays. The status reports are currently being evaluated and what influence this had on the respective rescue operation itself. For example, a replacement vehicle could be sent during an operation.

Rescue operations have already been hampered in the past. This emerges from internal police evaluations that are available to WELT. According to this, between June 2022 and February 2023 there were 28 delays in the deployment of the Berlin fire brigade. The total delay in firefighting operations during this period was 315 minutes. Depending on the individual case, the delay lasted between one and 64 minutes.

So far, the Berlin police have taken more than 40 activists into custody. There, “further measures will be decided,” the police wrote on Twitter on Monday afternoon. According to a spokesman, it is now being checked whether protesters will be brought before a judge.

Overall, according to the police, there were measures involving deprivation of liberty “in the lower three-digit range” during the protest actions of the climate group in Berlin. For the most part, it was a question of identity.

The group Scientist Rebellion declared their solidarity with the “last generation”. About 40 members of other climate groups are involved in the road blockades. On Monday, Britta Haßelmann, leader of the Greens parliamentary group, emphasized that she did not consider the blockade actions to be helpful for climate protection.

According to a police spokeswoman, the blockades in Berlin initially affected Ernst-Reuter-Platz and Hardenbergstrasse in Charlottenburg, where seven and five climate activists respectively had stuck.

The blockades began around 7:30 a.m., in the middle of rush hour traffic. In the morning, the districts of Spandau and Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf were the first to be affected. The police was deployed with around 500 officers to break up or prevent blockades. The police spokeswoman spoke of a “dynamic situation”.

Important main traffic arteries of the city were blocked

Dozens of other blockades quickly followed in the city area – for example on Pappelallee in Prenzlauer Berg, Danziger Strasse in Pankow, on Tempelhofer Damm in Tempelhof-Schöneberg, at the entrance to 17 June and on the A100 city motorway on Konstanzer Strasse. Significant traffic jams occurred on the Ku’damm (Kurfürstendamm).

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The traffic information center (VIZ) said that the protests would also result in numerous delays, diversions, cancellations or cancellations in bus services. “If possible, switch to the S+U-Bahn,” was the VIZ’s recommendation on Twitter.

The group complains about the lack of climate protection and demands the establishment of a social council with random members. She is calling on politicians to come up with a plan to achieve the 1.5 degree target, which is intended to prevent the worst consequences of global warming.

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