Should Cities Negotiate with Last Generation Activists? Belit Onay did this weeks ago and still thinks it’s the right thing to do – despite the prosecutor’s investigation into the group.
When dealing with the climate activists of the last generation, Hanover’s Mayor Belit Onay continues to plead for talks instead of escalation.
“We managed to build a bridge in Hanover, and I still think that’s the right way,” said the Greens politician to the German Press Agency. “The concerns of the group are neither anti-constitutional nor state-destroying – quite the contrary.”
On Wednesday morning, investigators carried out a large-scale raid against the climate protection group. Around 170 officers searched 15 apartments and business premises in seven federal states, as announced by the Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Bavarian State Criminal Police Office. The accusation was the formation or support of a criminal organization.
“I honestly have to say that raises questions for me,” Onay said, referring to the confiscated Last Generation website. “For me, that gives the impression that they want to fight political activism with legal activism.” The group denies the allegation.
Agreed end of sticking actions
At the end of February, Onay was the first mayor to agree with the last generation to end the stick-on campaigns on the streets of his city. In return, the head of the town hall wrote a letter to the chairmen of the parliamentary groups. He shares the assessment of science and the last generation that current measures are not sufficient “to avert the climate crisis that threatens our existence,” the letter said.
“The demands of the last generation like a speed limit and a 9-euro ticket are far from radical,” said Onay. “It’s nothing that endangers the constitutional state.” However, the protest actions resulted in “very difficult, polarizing, confrontational situations in traffic”, including points relevant to criminal law. “We ended these actions with the common step.”
Onay again rejected the accusation that the agreement made him vulnerable to blackmail. He supports many of the demands of the last generation, said the 42-year-old Green politician.
Source: Stern
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