A leading environmental and nature conservation organization’s chairman, Olaf Bandt, has expressed shock at a so-called “Little Question” submitted by the Union faction in the German Bundestag to civil society organizations. “It already has a chilling effect” Bandt told the Frankfurter Rundschau in its Friday edition.
“The underlying idea that the engagement of environmental organizations and other parts of civil society is being questioned is shocking to us already” he said. “We are not just a bunch of green enthusiasts.”
Bandt referred to the reaction of the numerous honorary members of the organization. “Our honorary members are shocked and dismayed” he said. “We have 30,000 people actively involved in honorary nature conservation. They advise in nature conservation councils, the nature conservation authorities in districts and municipalities. These people feel totally misunderstood and are disappointed.” The questions posed by the Union faction, Bandt added, were using a “language that one would more often associate with the AfD.”
The Union faction had submitted a question in the Bundestag inquiring about the financing of non-governmental organizations. The question, titled “Political Neutrality of State-Funded Organizations” poses a total of 551 questions about organizations like “Grandmothers Against the Right” the BUND and Greenpeace.