We publish here our press release from 13.12.2022, in which we show our solidarity with the activists whose apartments were searched in order to intimidate them and to stop their activism for a livable future.
For more info, listen to the interview Radio Dreyeckland did with us (in German).
Nationwide house searches at activists of the Uprising of the Last Generation
Statement and solidarity of the Students For Future Freiburg
According to media reports, apartments of eleven activists of the Uprising of the Last Generation were searched throughout Germany. In the process, electronic devices were confiscated by the police.
Due to the failures of past and present governments, humanity is currently facing the worst and most dangerous crisis of its existence. As leading scientists point out, the next three years will determine whether the crossing of irreversible tipping points in the climate crisis can be prevented, and thus how many billions of people will be affected by existential suffering.
In this situation, activists of the “Uprising of the Last Generation” (“Aufstand der Letzten Generation) have been calling on the government to act for about a year through actions of civil disobedience, a form of democratic protest as practiced, for example, by the civil rights movement and in the early days of today’s green party (“Bündnis 90/Die Grünen). The concrete demands always consist of measures that are easy and quick to implement, have great support among the population and can efficiently curb greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, for example, the group is calling for a speed limit on highways, which according to calculations by the German Federal Environment Agency would save several million tons of carbon dioxide per year.
At five o’clock in the morning, the peace and security of eleven activists’s homes were disturbed by the police and the question remains, what they looked for. Especially since the activists always publicly committed their actions and documented them as well as stand by their activism with face and name, the impression arises that the searches were ultimately intended less to gain knowledge and more to intimidate the activists by the state.
The Freiburg chapter of Students For Future, a worldwide climate justice movement of students and young adults, therefore clearly expresses its solidarity with those affected and condemns the encroaching and morally reprehensible actions of the police. In this context, Meret Knichel from Students For Future Freiburg says: “We urgently appeal to the security authorities to become aware of their actual task: This is to protect the citizens of this country and not to take action against them in order to satisfy government interests and right-wing conservative to right-wing extremist narratives and the desire for revenge of the tabloid press.” Benedikt Wolf adds “Those who commit crimes against all humanity and literally walk over corpses sit in their bosses’ chairs and in the lobbies of parliaments, not in the homes of activists!”.