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- Environmental activists occupied the Bundesplatz in Bern on Monday morning.
- Climate activists want to stay in place all week.
- It is still open whether the police will allow the protesters to do their thing.
The climate movement has conquered the Bundesplatz in Bern with several hundred people. Before long, activists set up several large tents early in the morning, as witnesses reported.
On the side facing Bärenplatz, the activists chained themselves to each other, blocking the connection of cars and buses. Access to the Federal Palace is not blocked. There will begin this afternoon the last week of the National Council and the Council of States. In general, rallies are not allowed on the Bundesplatz during sessions.
It is important to us that, like the climate strikes, despite civil disobedience, it is peaceful and colorful.
Climate activists see the occupation as a prelude to the “Stand Up for Change” week of action and as a protest against the political and economic system, responsible for the climate crisis, as it is called in a statement. Other citizens are invited to come to Bundesplatz and join the protest against the climate crisis.
The canton of Bern police do not provide any information on the number of participants or the extent of the protest. Mayor Alec von Graffenried (Greens) and Security Director Reto Nause (CVP) had an idea of the situation at the scene. The city of Bern announced on Twitter that talks with climate activists should take place at noon.
Climate activists have various demands on decision makers. “That is why we are calling for a net zero policy by 2030 and climate justice,” climate activist Meret Schefer told SRF News. Various “influential sectors” are also addressed, such as the financial sector or the energy sector. But it is important to the organizers that the action remains peaceful and colorful despite civil disobedience.
We cannot afford to wait any longer to act, because the climate crisis does not wait either.
Climate activists want to stay on the Bundesplatz until Friday. The mood is good and, for the moment, it looks like we will get approval from the authorities, explains Schefer. You are in contact with all instances.
The march on the Bundesplatz is currently not that big. The climate activist explains it with the fact that there are many people working. “And for technical reasons of the coronavirus, it is not so tragic when there is more distance between people.” The activists couldn’t afford to wait any longer before acting, Schefer concludes. “Because the climate crisis is not waiting either.”
Focus on Parliament and the SNB
The Bundesplatz is a symbol of the “destruction caused by the climate crisis,” the activists wrote. 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.
At the same time, the climate movement announced new actions against institutional politics, the business elite and the financial center until September 25.
