IMAGO / Anadolu Agency
Around 40 activists glued themselves to the ground outside an office building of Germany’s largest arms manufacturer Rheinmetall in Pariser Platz on Monday morning. Among the protestors was Greta Thunberg, a Swedish activist known for her extensive activist work around climate change and, most recently, her participation in the initial flotilla aid mission to Gaza.
Police forces removed 39 demonstrators from the ground and ordered the dispersal of the protesters. Three demonstrators are being considered for preventative arrest to deter them from joining further protests. Thunberg took to Instagram, saying, “We have the duty to end our complicity in genocide and mass killings. And that’s what we are doing today.“ She was also detained at the scene.
The protest was organised by the group Peacefully Against Genocide, which announced a week of protests in Berlin. According to the group, the protests are aimed at German support for Israel and “complicity in the genocide in Palestine”, as well as Rheinmetall’s continued arms trade with Israel and its plans to build another weapons factory. The protests are set to continue until Wednesday this week.
The group’s previous protests included blocking the entrance to the Rheinmetall plant in Gesundbrunnen last Saturday. Two hundred police officers were deployed to the protest and could be seen using force to apprehend some of the 100 protesters. Two police officers were also taken to hospital with injuries.