The massive cleaning and restoring costs of the Brandenburg Gate which was sprayed orange and yellow during a Last Generation protest will allegedly be paid by the activists.
Cops apprehended 14 people who sprayed orange and yellow paint all over all six columns of the German capital’s most iconic sight, the Brandenburg Gate, on Sunday morning, 17th September.
The activists reportedly used fire extinguishers filled with orange and yellow paint on the popular landmark in order to urge the government to take more urgent action against climate change.
In the attack that caused about EUR 35,000 (GBP 30,294) worth of damage, the group reportedly demanded country officials to put an end to fossil fuel use by 2030.
They said: “We will not stop our protest unless a pivot is initiated. We have to exit oil, natural gas, and coal by 2030 at the latest.”
But state officials now announced that they would charge the activist group with the cleaning costs.
Berlin’s Governing Mayor, Kai Wegner, 51, said: “Those responsible should pay for the damage they caused to our landmark.”
And Berlin Parliament Member, Dirk Stettner, 54, added: “I would have liked them to clean up their mess themselves – under strict professional guidance.”
BIM (Berliner Immobilienmanagement) real estate representative Marlen Koenecke explained that the paints used in the attack is not soluble in water so the cleaning operation is more demanding than initially thought.
So far, according to Koenecke, the pillars have been cleaned up to a height of two metres.
The cleaning of the upper parts of the columns is expected to be more difficult, as Koenecke feared the paint has penetrated deeper into the pores of the material.
Spokesperson Johann Steinke from Berlin’s city administration, said: “We currently anticipate that the color pigments can be completely removed from the sandstone
during the week so that the Brandenburg Gate will be colorless again for the Berlin Marathon.”
The attack on Sunday was followed by several more road blockages by the same activist group the next day, with people gluing themselves to streets all over the city.
Police claimed they arrested a total of 46 ‘climate gluers’ in the blockages, who were released later that evening at around 9pm.
Criminal charges against the offenders involved in the attack on the Brandenburg Gate were also filed, cops said.
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Story By: Georgina Jadikovska, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
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