The contrast in Lützerath could hardly be greater: when police officers in full gear stormed the occupied lignite town of Lützerath on Wednesday morning, music, prayers and spiritual songs could be heard. A climate activist plays an old piano in the middle of the rain, a second strums the guitar in a tree house. Others have gathered around a cross and are singing “Wonderfully protected by good powers”.
But not everywhere is so peaceful. When the police officers begin to fence off the area, according to the emergency services, there are violent incidents – Molotov cocktails, pyrotechnics and stones fly in the direction of the officers. Police are appealing to the activists to remain peaceful and leave the area.
Violent protest on the day of the eviction in Lützerath
However, the climate protectors cannot be driven out that quickly. They are defending themselves against the ongoing evacuation with barricades, sit-ins and human chains. In what was described as a “counterattack”, a dozen people blocked access to the opencast mine near Jackerath, it is said. Accordingly, activists abseiled from an old highway bridge across the street. The police’s main access to their logistics warehouse in the opencast mine was thus blocked.
“People are determined to persevere, to protect the trees and the buildings,” said Mara Sauer, a spokeswoman for the “Lützerath Lives” initiative. Among other things, activists are on tree houses, in buildings and huts, according to Sauer. “It will definitely take a long time,” she emphasizes, with a view to the eviction.
Around noon, the emergency services have already advanced far into the village. A police spokesman said the situation had stabilized. The officials cordoned off the entire area, and no one can get in without permission, they say.
RWE wants to start dismantling settlements on Wednesday
The conflict over Lützerath has been brewing for months. The energy company RWE wants to demolish the abandoned village in order to mine the coal underneath and expand the nearby Garzweiler opencast mine. Violent criticism, however, comes from climate protectors. They deny that the coal located under “Lützi” is really needed and rely on one Study by the “CoalExit Research Group”according to which the current mining area is always sufficient.
As RWE explains, the dismantling of the settlement is to begin this Wednesday and it will then be “used for mining”. As one of the first measures, a construction fence a good one and a half kilometers long will be erected “for safety reasons”. “It marks the company’s own construction site, where the remaining buildings, ancillary facilities, roads and canals of the former settlement will be dismantled over the next few weeks,” explained RWE. Trees and shrubs will also be removed.
The nearby Garzweiler opencast mine could then begin excavating the lignite for power generation in the region’s power plants under the former site. RWE appealed to the climate activists to act with prudence, show non-violence and accept the rule of law.