[News Terms] Powerful Guerrilla Protest 'Majimak Sedae'

'Letzte Generation (Letzte Generation, Retseuteu Generachion)' is an environmental activist group active mainly in Germany and Austria.

Climate activists belonging to Letzte Generation staged protests on the 23rd of last month (local time) by invading about 30 major roads in Berlin, Germany, and gluing their hands to the roads with adhesive, paralyzing traffic throughout the city. They demanded government-level measures to address climate change.

German police are removing adhesive from the hands of activists belonging to the climate movement group 'Letzte Generation' in the capital Berlin on the 25th of last month (local time).
[Photo by AFP Berlin / Yonhap News]

In February, climate activists disrupted the opening ceremony red carpet of the Berlin International Film Festival, one of the world's top three film festivals, by gluing their hands with instant adhesive. In December last year, they invaded runways at two airports in Berlin and Munich, and in October prior, they splattered mashed potatoes on a Claude Monet artwork exhibited at the Barberini Museum in Potsdam, Germany. Letzte Generation has been continuing such guerrilla protests recently.

They claim to be the last generation that can prevent the extinction of humanity and assert that climate change will become irreversible within three years. Some conservative politicians criticize them as the 'Climate RAF,' likening them to the Red Army Faction, a far-left armed group in West Germany.

On the 24th (local time), German authorities raided 15 bases of Letzte Generation. The German prosecution and police stated in a press release, "An investigation is necessary regarding allegations that activists formed or supported a criminal organization." They also claimed to have detected signs that Letzte Generation intended to use 1.4 million euros (about 2 billion KRW) recently donated through their website for additional criminal acts.

In response, Letzte Generation issued a statement saying, "The raids were a shock to everyone supporting Letzte Generation," and "In particular, one supporter was lying on their bed at home when 25 law enforcement officers stormed in with guns drawn," expressing strong opposition.