Vienna extinction rebellion: field cleared, protest continues – Vienna news

The tent camp of the environmental movement Extinction Rebellion (XR) at Vienna’s Michaelerplatz, which has been set up in the middle of Vienna’s center since Sunday, was cleared Tuesday morning. The protest initially continued, but later in the afternoon the group, which had now grown to about 50 activists, left the scene. The campaign for greater climate protection did not end there, as announced by an APA spokesperson.

Several smaller decentralized campaigns were running in Vienna, apparently mainly on traffic blocks. “With these so-called swarms, the intersections are blocked during various green phases,” the XR spokesperson explained. Approximately 100 people from the movement are away from home in groups. The “rebels” are known for their acts of civil disobedience.

The “wave of rebellion” proclaimed with the occupation of Michaelerplatz will in any case continue as planned until at least the weekend, according to XR. There, the climate protection activists were awakened by the police on Tuesday around 5 am The intervention took place because the action had no longer had the character of a demonstration, according to police spokesman Markus Dittrich. Young people, sometimes up to 80 years old, had blocked the road at Michaelerplatz and the adjacent square at the Hofburg with tents and banners and declared them a climate protection zone.

Several requests for evacuation were ignored. On Tuesday morning, the executive then entered with several dozen forces. The identity of about 15 people was determined, another three were not identified and, therefore, they were provisionally arrested and brought before the magistrate, Dittrich reported. Everything would be reported according to the camping ordinance, there could be fines of a maximum of 700 euros. There were no incidents during the eviction. The “arrested rebels” were soon free again and, initially at least, returned to Michaelerplatz, as the activists reported. The objective of the protest is “to make the population aware of the failure of climate policy.”

Activists from Extinction Rebellion started the “Swarm Campaign” on Tuesday after a camp at Michaelerplatz. According to the environmental movement, around 100 people were deployed to carry out decentralized actions in the city. At night the lanes of the new building belt were blocked. The inner belt of Stollgasse was closed, the outer belt of Felberstraße, reported the traffic department of Radio Vienna. Traffic jams formed.

“During and after the shutdown, politics missed the opportunity to shape the necessary change,” said activist Niklas Niskate. That is why the ecorebels are asking the population to get involved in the necessary decisions as soon as possible.