Violence and repression by the police
05.07.2022 – Dr. Nana-Maria Grüning (Biologist at Berliner Charité) inflicted with pain grips
You have just scanned a QR code from a sign on a blindfolded statue in Dresden. As there are no Buddy Bears in Dresden, please breath in fully and imagine you are in Berlin standing in front of a colorful, funny statue of a blindfolded Bear raising his arms.
Why do you read “police violence” on the blindfold?
Trust in the police is a cornerstone of our democracies. We learn at school: if we are non-violent, they will not hurt us. Today, this trust is being damaged. Anyone can experience how ominous the everyday life of People of Color can be. Non-violent citizens, some even underage, are increasingly facing pain grips while peacefully protesting for a livable future. Often, the police have milder means available, such as carrying away blockaders. The effects of pain grips are difficult for observers to see. However, they often lead to physical and psychological injuries.
Blindfolded Buddy Bears symbolize how the general public, although agreeing with the values promoted by the Buddy Bears, is currently lacking awareness of police violence. The raised arms point to the fact that our societies are unable to act. The Buddy Bears also can stand for climate activists themselves hiding their tears about the pain they experience and their sadness about the consequences of global warming. Here the raised hands mean: “We are peaceful”.
Yet climate activists do not stand alone. UN Special Rapporteur Michel Forst considers state repression of the climate movement as a major threat to our democracies and human rights.
„The repression that environmental activists who use peaceful civil disobedience are currently facing in Europe is a major threat to democracy and human rights. […] it is for us all to listen to what environmental defenders have to say.“ — Michael Forst, see [1]
Please note that the following sources are mainly in German language.
A video showing extreme physical police violence against a peaceful activist can be found here. Contrary to the claims of the Verwaltungsgericht Berlin, such pain-inducing holds are common police practice.
This is documented by numerous video and photo recordings at protests. An example is the open letter by Prof. Dr. Stefan Müller to Berlin’s Minister of the Interior. It was written in response to severe police violence during a protest of climate activists earlier this year. Additional legal information can be found on the VerfBlog, whose authors also recently published the study “Violence in Office: Excessive Police Violence and Its Investigation“.
Background on non-violent Civil Disobedience
According to the latest IPCC Synthesis Report 2023, achieving the below 1.5°C target of the Paris Climate Agreement has become virtually impossible. To reach this goal with about a coin toss chance, greenhouse gas emissions would need to fall to 57% of 2019 levels by 2030. Additionally, we must remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere on a large scale. A document that summarizes this information in an easily understandable way can be found here.
We already experience the effects of climate change today. Scientists are observing an increase in heatwaves, droughts, and floods not only in the much more severely affected Global South, but also in Europe.
Yet police violence, state repression and media hostility towards climate activists are on the rise in Germany. This attitude conflicts with the urgency of political action. Only swift and decisive action can mitigate the humanitarian, social and economic consequences of the climate catastrophe.
Currently we are playing Russian roulette with our future!
Our Request: Talk About It!
Share the information: A vibrant democracy needs informed citizens. Otherwise, our democracy will be systematically undermined by violence, by the climate catastrophe itself, and will lead to the erosion of our freedoms and those of our children.
Who are we?
We are Scientist Rebellion: Academics who research and work in Germany, using civil resistance to advocate for climate justice.
You can find more information about us here.
This action was carried out in collaboration with Letzte Generation Deutschland.
Sources
[1] Green Legal Spaces Report 2023, pdf, Green Legal Impact Germany e.V.