Vandalism against the Apple Store Rosenthaler Strasse in Berlin was carried out by activists protesting the alleged exploitation of Congo by technology companies including Apple, spray-painting the store.
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Apple has been accused of supply chain , linked to militia groups in Congo. Apple says it has stopped using tin, tungsten and tantalum mined in the region and has rejected suppliers who did so.
However, activists from Fridays For Future (FFF) vandalized one of the two Apple Stores in Berlin specifically to draw attention to the company's alleged practices. According to German newspaper Tagesspiegel, the store was painted red as part of the Day of Action Against Exploitation in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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“ More than 60 percent of the cobalt for Apple or Tesla comes from Congo and that means children as young as seven have to start working in the mines technology ,” Dorcas Mugo of the FFF said (in translation) in a statement seen by the newspaper. “ Inhabitants are being evicted and dispossessed of their lands .”
“While Apple and its partners reap profits,” the statement continued, “70 percent of Congolese people live in extreme poverty and face starvation.”
This protest follows a letter from the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to Apple, asking it to prove it is not using the material in devices . This comes despite Apple recently stopping working with 12 suppliers for allegedly violating Supplier Code of Conduct on the issue.
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Following today's vandalism of the Apple Store in Berlin, the FFF is also reportedly planning to hold a speech in front of the Apple Store at 5 p.m. local time. So far, Apple Kurfurstendamm, the company's other store in Berlin does not appear to have been targeted.
Source: appleinsider
