If anyone wants to read the actual communiqué, here is a machine translation:

Claim of Responsibility No. 8

We are responsible for the sabotage of the railroad line north of Leverkusen. Incendiary devices were placed in a large cable shaft at the northeast corner of the Wupper Bridge and in a narrower shaft halfway between the underpass and the radio tower. We used timers, which we had already described in “move fast and break things,” as well as one liter each of barbecue lighter fluid. We regret that the fire was able to spread slightly and thank the fire department for containing it. In the future, we will wait for more favorable weather.

There have been some journalistic blunders in the political interpretation of our actions. We had already distanced ourselves from the prevailing ideologies of our time in an earlier letter. The fact that even the Office for the Protection of the Constitution only skimmed the text should give pause for thought. To summarize briefly:

For those on the left, people are fundamentally equal in their abilities and worth. It follows, then, that all people should have roughly the same amount of power and the same economic status. Those on the right place greater emphasis on the differences between people. They argue that positions of power in the social hierarchy should be held by those with greater abilities. This debate is important and must be held in every society. However, the extent to which this cultural struggle has taken root in people’s minds now prevents us from focusing on what really matters. Conveniently, of course, the other side is always to blame.

We are in the midst of a mass extinction. If it is not stopped, sooner or later humanity itself will fall victim to it. The cause of this mass extinction is technological escalation. Those who profit from it call it “progress.” The cause of technological escalation is competition.

Since competition among living beings can be reduced but not eliminated, the elimination of industrial technology is imperative. If necessary, even a small minority can bring this about through sabotage. Governments and corporations are unable to do so because of the laws of competition, as they would have to undermine their own power base.

It is impossible to rebuild industrial production chains once they have been completely destroyed.

Plants, animals, and many people will immediately be better off as a result. For people in urban centers, the transition will be difficult, uncomfortable, and dangerous at first, but we will get through it. Over time, we will come to appreciate the benefits.

Our movement has many names: We are anti-industry. We are the anti-tech movement. We are biocentric. We are dark green. We are the new Luddites.

This movement will prevent the planet from being shredded. We are not asking for permission to do so.

If you wish to better understand the motivations of these people, I suggest reading some of their other writings, like this translation of their n. 3 letter which goes deeper into the subject. And then read some of the Switch Off stuff which unfortunately hasn’t been translated but has the complete reasoning.

I’m not looking to either support or oppose them here, I just think people should form opinions based on actual sources rather than biased summaries, snide comments and their own preconceptions.