The renowned Swedish activist was warned of arrest if she attended the Dortmund encampment event.
Prominent Swedish activist Greta Thunberg accused on Wednesday Germany of threatening and silencing pro-Palestinian activists revealing that she was warned of arrest if she sets foot in the country.
The young climate activist said in footage posted on X that the German police threatened to arrest her if she was to come to deliver a speech at the Dortmund encampment in Germany, which it forced students to dismantle a day earlier to Thunberg’s statement.
Thunberg revealed that she was invited on Tuesday by the Dortmund encampment to attend a panel event and soon after this was published, the German police arrived and ordered students to dismantle the camp while informing them that Thunberg would be arrested if she attended the event.
🇩🇪 German authorities are afraid of Greta?
The German police have closed a student encampment in Dortmund after finding out that Greta Thunberg was planning on visiting it.
The police also released a statement that Greta is violent and prohibited her to attend the protest.… pic.twitter.com/STwg9C85i0
— Lord Bebo (@MyLordBebo) October 10, 2024
“All this because they had invited me to speak and I have been to a pro-Palestine demo in Berlin the night before,” Thunberg said.
The activist labeled the dismantlement of the student camp at Dortmund as “far from the end”, while stressing that “Germany is silencing and threatening activists who are speaking up against the genocide and occupation in Palestine.”
“The German police claim that it is anti-Semitism to say that Israel should stop bombing children and to say that Palestinians deserve safety, freedom and justice,” the activist said.
Thunberg pleaded with the public to show support for the students’ movement and the encampment in Dortmund and “everywhere else where people are facing repression for speaking up against Israel’s genocide and full-scale attacks.”
“We will not be silenced,” the young activist pledged in her video posted on X.
Greta Thunberg condemns Germany for supporting Gaza genocide: pic.twitter.com/G3jCAqF1LS
— PalMedia (@PalBint) October 8, 2024
MEMO reported that the German police claimed on Tuesday that “recent events linked to Thunberg have led to her being assessed as a participant who is willing to commit violence.”
The statement was later retracted by the German police, who alleged it was an “internal error”, MEMO said.
A police spokesperson said later on Wednesday that a statement on the matter at hand would be issued, claiming that the camp in Dortmund was closed because “Thunberg’s appearance could attract more people than was originally permitted,” MEMO stated.
Not a First
The young Swedish activist has been one of the very vocal voices during Israel’s genocide on the Gaza Strip since one year ago.
She repeatedly expressed her support for the Palestinian people accusing Israel of committing genocide in the besieged enclave.
Felix Klein, the German government’s commissioner for anti-Semitism accused Thunberg of making “anti-Israeli and anti-Semitic” statements.
In early September, Thunberg was arrested along with student protesters at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark at a pro-Palestine demonstration.
‘Academic Boycott Now!’ – Greta Thunberg among Students Detained at Danish University Protest
“Students Against the Occupation and I are at the University of Copenhagen’s administration building,” Thunberg wrote in a video shared on her Instagram account.
The protesters had reportedly blocked the entrance to the building and three entered.
“Police have been called, violently entered the building with a ram wearing assault rifles. They are evicting everyone as we speak,” Thunberg added.
She wrote: “We are here because dialog (sic), encampment, demonstrations among other methods after a 3-year-long campaign did NOT lead the university to meet the demands including an institutional academic boycott.”
Thunberg said students “have been arrested and are being taken to the station this very moment.”
A subsequent video showed Thunberg, with a kaffiyeh around her neck, handcuffed and put in a police van.
Banned by Israel
At the beginning of the genocide on Gaza, following her social media posts in support of the Palestinian people, amid a devastating Israeli war on Gaza, the Israeli government responded by a decision to remove any mention of the young activist from the Israeli public education curriculum, the Israeli news platform, Ynet reported on October 23.
“Hamas is a terror organization,” the ministry said in a statement, adding that “this position (Thunberg’s solidarity with the Palestinian people) disqualifies her from being a worthy inspiration, and thus she is no longer eligible to serve as a role model for Israeli students.”
The famed environmentalist, however, didn’t mention Hamas or any other Palestinian group in her solidarity post.
Thunberg published a social media post on her Instagram account last Friday calling for people to “stand with Gaza.”
The potential Nobel Peace Prize candidate wrote the following post under the photo:
“Today we are striking in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza. The world needs to speak up and call for an immediate cease-fire, justice and freedom for Palestinians and all civilians affected.”
Three other young women were also in the photo, each holding a sign. One sign read, “This Jew Stands with Palestine,” another read “Climate Justice Now,” and a third carried a Palestinian flag with the words “Free Palestine”.
The young women joined many respected activists, intellectuals, art and culture icons around the world making similar demands.
(PC, MEMO)
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