The clearing of the North Rhine-Westphalian village of Lützerath, which is to make way for opencast lignite mining, has been underway since Wednesday morning. In the meantime, there are no more activists on the ground, only on the wooden constructions above – the monopods consisting of a column or three-legged tripods. Some climate protectors have also entrenched themselves in the houses.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has announced that she wants to take part in a demonstration in Lützerath on Saturday. She had already traveled there in September 2021 – one day before the federal election at that time. A number of other people have already announced themselves for Thursday: For example, climate activist Luisa Neubauer, representatives of the environmental organization Greenpeace, as well as scientists and celebrities who want to show solidarity with the goals of the demonstrators. Around 200 artists wrote an open letter on Wednesday in which they demanded a halt to the eviction of Lützerrath and a reassessment of the contracts between RWE and the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Among the signatories are the actress Katja Riemann, the actor Armin Rohde, the pianist Igor Levit and the singer Sebastian Krumbiegel (Die Prinzen).
“You clear, we’re coming. The village is still standing, and above all the coal under Lützerath is still under the ground. As long as it’s there, new negotiations can be started at any time,” said Neubauer.
Activists from the climate movement have been occupying Lützerath for about two years and want to prevent the energy company RWE from digging up lignite under the village. They try to prevent an eviction and sometimes had violent clashes with the police.
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck defended the eviction and called for a renunciation of violence. “In my view, the empty Lützerath settlement, where no one lives anymore, is the wrong symbol,” said the Green politician. There shouldn’t be any violence. “This limit must not be exceeded.”
A climate activist sits on a wooden pole in the occupied lignite mining town of Lützerath.
(Photo: Oliver Berg/dpa)
According to a police spokesman, the situation has stabilized. The emergency services cordoned off the entire area, no one can get in without authorization. RWE workers have now begun to fence off the area around the lignite site. The fence will be around 1.5 kilometers long and will mark the company’s own construction site. The police emphasized that the fence was not intended to enclose demonstrators on the Lützerath site. In the coming weeks, the remaining buildings, ancillary facilities, streets and canals of the former settlement are to be demolished. Trees and bushes are also removed. In addition, the police sawed off the town sign of Lützerath. Because there are also families with small children among the squatters, the emergency services appealed on Twitter to bring the children to safety.
Stones, pyrotechnics and Molotov cocktails are thrown at police officers
In the morning when the eviction began, several hundred police officers advanced towards the protest camp. Again and again they cleared obstacles aside. Activists had holed themselves up behind barricades, and the atmosphere was sometimes massively heated. Some protesters insults against emergency services and scuffles between the two parties.
Single bottles flew out of the window of a house at police officers. Activists threw stones at the emergency services from rooftops. Cannon noises could be heard. The police said stones and pyrotechnics were thrown in the direction of the emergency services. Molotov cocktails were also used. Plumes of smoke could be seen in photos and videos. In one recording, an incendiary device was thrown in the direction of police officersa little later a barricade burned there.
Some protesters sat on the ground and work their fingertips with superglue, needle and glitter: This is to prevent the police from taking fingerprints for several days.
The majority of climate protectors demonstrated peacefully, including those who had positioned themselves on the monopods and tripods. It takes some effort for the police to get them down from there, but the activists often do not put up any active, violent resistance. Some peaceful activists retreated in the face of the advancing police. So they kept calling “We are peaceful, what are you?” and urged officials to join the protests.
Aachen’s police chief Dirk Weinspach said before the evacuation began that the emergency services were well prepared and were pursuing a de-escalating strategy. However, it is clear to him that there is a small group among the protesters who are ready to use violence. Weinspach said the police are preparing for a four-week deployment. He expects that climate activists will resist in many ways.