climate protest
Lützerath cleared except for two activists in the tunnel
Demolition work on the former house of the last farmer from Lützerath. photo
© Federico Gambarini/dpa
The clearing of the village of Lützerath for opencast lignite mining is almost complete. Police and climate activists accuse each other of violence after the big demo on Saturday.
The police have completed the evacuation of the protest village of Lützerath at the Rhenish opencast lignite mine, except for two activists in a tunnel. “There are no other activists in the Lützerath area,” the police said.
Most of the buildings had already been demolished – including the farm of farmer Eckardt Heukamp, the last farmer in Lützerath. After the complete demolition, the energy company RWE wants to excavate the coal underneath.
After clashes between demonstrators and police officers on the sidelines of a large anti-coal rally on Saturday, allegations of violence flew back and forth on Sunday. According to the police, around 1,000 mostly masked “disturbers” tried to penetrate the closed-off area of Lützerath on the edge of the demo. To repel them, the police used water cannons, batons and pepper spray. Twelve people were arrested or taken into custody.
The energy company RWE said it was “appalled at the aggression and violence.” The state chairman of the police union (GdP), Michael Mertens, also spoke of massive attacks by some of the demonstrators on the police. “The call spread from the stage, ‘Everyone can do what they want. Everyone decides for themselves how far they go “it shouldn’t have existed,” criticized Mertens. “Militant opponents of lignite apparently took it as a license to use force against the police.”
Activists speak of seriously injured demonstrators
The organizers of the demo and spokesman for the Lützerather activists, on the other hand, accused the police of excessive violence. A spokeswoman for the protesters’ medical service said a “high two-digit to three-digit number” of participants were injured. Among them were many seriously injured and some critically injured people. The police “systematically hit activists in the head”.
According to the police, however, only nine activists were taken to the hospital by ambulance. “Fortunately, no one was seriously injured,” police said. A video shows Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, German activist Luisa Neubauer and others being pushed aside by police officers in a field. Thunberg returned to the edge of the mine on Sunday and took part in a spontaneous demo.
The 20-year-old was the main speaker at the demo on Saturday, which police estimated was 15,000 people, and according to the organizers at least 35,000 people. “Lützerath is still there, and as long as the coal is still in the ground, this fight is not over,” said Thunberg to the cheers of the audience. It is incomprehensible to her that coal will still be mined and burned in 2023, although it is well known that the climate change caused by this is costing human lives in many parts of the world. “Germany, as one of the world’s biggest polluters, has an enormous responsibility,” Thunberg warned.
Thunberg criticism of the Greens
In an interview with the German Press Agency, the world-famous activist criticized the Greens for their support for the demolition of Lützerath. Corporations like RWE should actually be held accountable for how they treat people. “The fact that the Greens make compromises with such companies shows where their priorities lie,” said Thunberg.
Leading Green politicians such as Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck and his NRW colleague Mona Neubaur justify the demolition of Lützerath and the excavation of the underlying coal with the fact that in return the coal phase-out, which was brought forward by eight years to 2030, was achieved. Five neighboring villages would be spared. The original residents of Lützerath have all moved away. Courts have dismissed lawsuits against the eviction.
The police announced on Sunday that a total of 35 “tree structures” and almost 30 wooden structures in Lützerath had also been cleared. Almost 300 people were taken away from Lützerath, which resulted in four acts of resistance. Since the eviction began, 154 investigations have been initiated. More than 70 police officers have been injured since the evacuation operation began. According to RWE, it is unclear when the two activists in the tunnel can be brought out. Other activists reported doing well.