Activists from the Koala Kollektiv group have hung a banner next to the iconic Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, southern Germany, to demand concrete measures to combat climate change as the UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt (COP27) gets underway on Sunday.
The poster reads «No more fairy tales – climate justice now!» in reference to all the promises and commitments agreed at previous climate conferences, explained a spokeswoman for the Koala Collective, Hannah Fischer. «Neuschwanstein is a symbol of decadence and overconsumption,» she stressed.
King Ludwig of Bavaria began building Neuschwanstein Palace in 1869 in honor of the composer Richard Wagner. Today the castle is a major tourist attraction.
POLITICAL PRISONERS On the other hand, the commissioner for Human Rights of the German government, Luise Amtsberg, has called on Saturday the Egyptian government to release political prisoners.
«Taking global responsibility means above all taking responsibility for the protection of human rights. However, the human rights situation in Egypt does not do justice to this,» Amtsberg argued. The German Foreign Office made the commissioner’s statements public before the start of COP27.
«The release of Mr. (Alaa Abdel) Fattah, who is in grave danger due to his hunger strike, as well as other political prisoners, would be an important sign that Egypt takes this responsibility seriously,» added Amtsberg.
Blogger Abdel Fatta was a leading figure in Egypt’s 2011 revolution and a key figure in the protests against then-ruler Husni Mubarak.
In 2013, he was arrested and convicted for protesting against a law restricting demonstrations. Since then he has spent long periods in prison. To his current hunger strike he adds a thirst strike as of today.
«The fact that people who want to express their opinions freely and defend this right are punished with long prison sentences sometimes in inhumane circumstances is unacceptable,» Amtsberg has pointed out.
«Civil engagement and socio-political criticism are neither crimes nor terrorism. The justified state objective of acting against terrorism and its causes must not be used for the permanent encroachment of freedom and human rights,» he added.
Some 40,000 participants from nearly 200 countries are expected at COP27, where measures to curb global warming will be discussed over the next two weeks. Activists have been demanding for weeks that the conference should not take place without significant improvements in human rights.
