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The activists set up a tent village opposite the Bundesplatz. Image: watson / amü
Climate activists occupy Bundesplatz ++ City does not want to evacuate protest camp for now
In the early hours of the morning, hundreds of people with bags and backpacks flocked to the Bundesplatz. Now they are setting up an illegal tent camp to protest against the current climate policy. Eviction is not yet an option for the mayor of Bern.
Ready, set, set: At 4.40 am, around 200 activists arrived at the Bundesplatz from all sides. The climate movement follows a confrontational course.
“We want climate justice, now,” they chant. They then lie on a human chain with their sleeping bags and backpacks and occupy the political center of Switzerland.
It goes very fast. Delivery vans and tractors with boat trailers stop. In a matter of minutes, the material for an entire city of tents is parked in front of the Federal Palace. The campaign, which has been meticulously prepared over the past few weeks, is picking up speed. The climate protectors immediately begin setting up huge facilities, marquees, concert stages, bathrooms and even kitchens on the Bundesplatz.
“We have come to settle here longer. It is an amazing feeling. We call on everyone to join us, ”climate activist Hanna Fischer (19) tells Watson.
The city of Bern does not want to (yet) clear the camp
The police are present but do not intervene. The Bern city government now has to worry about how to deal with the illegal city of tents in front of the Federal Palace. Even more so because this week the session will take place in the Federal Palace.
How long do you look at the city of Bern? In an opening statement, the mayor of Bern, Alec von Graffenried, told SRF: “The activists cooperate. We are negotiating now. That’s a good prerequisite so it doesn’t have to be deleted immediately. “
Here’s what climate activist Hanna says:
Video: watson / amü
For now, Hanna doesn’t care. “We want people, and especially politics and business, to finally wake up and recognize how serious the climate crisis is,” continues the medical student before setting up the next tent. She had spent the night with dozens of environmentalists in a church in Bern. At four o’clock the order came to start the operation. The climate protection activists then quickly moved through the city towards the Federal Palace.
The action began in front of the French church where the activists had stayed. image: watson
The camp as the center of the week of action
In a message, the climate strike writes: “The Bundesplatz is a symbol of the destruction caused by the climate crisis.” Parliament and the Federal Council had given the aviation industry nearly two billion francs, and the Swiss National Bank and Credit Suisse continued to invest billions in promoting fossil fuels, they criticized.
The campaign caused a sensation across the country. “With the occupation of the Bundesplatz, the climate movement struck a blow. She’s back in the headlines, ”says Mark Balsiger, a Bern-based campaign expert.
Activists set up a tent village on the Bundesplatz. image: watson
With the slogan “Stand up for change”, climate activists are on the move this week. Because, from their point of view, the weather demonstrations have had little effect recently, they now want to rely on civil disobedience. By September 25, activists announced new actions against institutional politics, the business elite and the financial center.
