Police officers took all activists out of tree houses in the Fechenheim forest. The chief of police was “very satisfied” with the operation. Parallel to this, clearing continued.
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Fechenheimer Wald in Frankfurt has been cleared
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The clearing of the Fechenheimer forest in the east of Frankfurt was completed on Friday. Most recently, seven environmental activists had stayed there. Since dawn, special police forces have been on duty to bring the last activists remaining in tree houses to the ground. All people are safe on the ground, the police were able to report before noon. Nobody was injured.
At the same time, clearing continued, and bulldozers were already in use at the edge of the site. The sound of chainsaws could also be heard again and again.
Police President Stefan Müller praised the course of the evacuation. Both sides had behaved very well, he told HR. The police had the right that no one would be injured. “So far we’ve managed that very well.” Overall, he was “very satisfied”.
Activist: “Fight is not lost”
“It’s far from over,” said an activist to the hr. “Just because the forest may be cleared here now doesn’t mean that the fight is lost.” What drives the opponents of expansion cannot be cleared.
According to the opponents, a vigil was planned for the evening. According to the police, the A66 will probably remain closed between the Bergen-Enkheim and Maintal junctions until Sunday evening. According to Autobahn GmbH, the crane is to be dismantled on Friday and a temporary gravel road expanded.
Live ticker for the clearing of the Fechenheim forest
In our ticker we keep you up to date on the current events in the Fechenheim Forest in the east of Frankfurt.
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Several people temporarily in custody
The police reported the second day of action on Thursday as “again peaceful and without injuries”. When the temperatures were freezing, the higher tree houses and other constructions in the treetops took center stage.
“More than half of the tree houses and structures were cleared during the day, and people were safely brought to the ground,” the police reported after the end of the operation. Seven people were temporarily taken into custody and five of them provisionally arrested; among other things, because of trespassing, resistance and missing personal details.
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Police and height rescuers clear tree houses in the Fechenheim forest
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Height rescuer in action
Since a few activists were on a so-called “high pod”, a tree house construction 15 meters high, the police deployed specially trained height rescuers. They roped down from a crane onto the “high pod”. Other activists were hoisted down from lower platforms where they had attached themselves with ropes.
While the height rescuers were deployed, heavy harvesters had advanced through the wooded area and cut down the trunks, some of which were thick, as if they were matchsticks. The explosive ordnance clearance service was also on duty on Thursday and sounded out the cleared area.
The activists commented on the police operation on Thursday with mixed feelings: At first glance, it looks like “the police are going to carry out the evacuation according to the motto ‘safety before speed’,” said a spokeswoman. “If you take a closer look, however, you can clearly see the negligent behavior of the police.” One person is in the hospital but is “okay”.
Traffic through the city creates noise and air pollution
Forces from all Hessian headquarters and the federal police have been in action in the forest since Wednesday. The goal: The opponents of the expansion should leave the area so that the federal Autobahn GmbH can cut down the trees and create two construction roads on the area.
The continued construction of the A66 and its connection to the A661 through the planned Riederwald tunnel have been among the long-running political issues in Hesse’s largest city since the mid-1980s. So far, the A66 coming from Fulda has ended a good two kilometers before the A661. According to Autobahn GmbH West, traffic therefore flows through the east of the city and often leads to traffic jams, noise and air pollution.
Half a hectare of forest for long-horned beetles
According to the motorway company, about 2.2 hectares of forest have to be felled for the construction of the more than one kilometer long Riederwald tunnel with two tubes. That’s about the size of three soccer fields. Another half hectare of forest will remain temporarily as a habitat for the protected long-horned beetle.
According to the state of Hesse, around 12,000 young trees were planted in 2018 in the Schwanheim district in western Frankfurt to compensate. The construction time for the tunnel is estimated at around eight years, the project should be completed in 2031.
Court stay failed
Efforts by environmentalists to get the eviction postponed through the courts had previously failed. On Tuesday, the Administrative Court (VGH) in Kassel rejected an urgent application from Naturefriends Germany, in which a postponement of the planned clearing work was demanded.
The objection of a forest squatter had already been rejected by the Frankfurt Administrative Court (VG) on Monday. On Wednesday, the activist also failed before the VGH. He had also filed an urgent application against the eviction of the police, which was also rejected by the Frankfurt Administrative Court on Wednesday.
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