Occupation of Lützerath: waiting for the start of the evacuation

The mood in Lützerath is heated – the police could start clearing the place occupied by climate activists at any moment. At an information event in the evening, the district and the police faced critical questions.

According to Aachen’s chief of police, Dirk Weinspach, the upcoming evacuation of the protest village in Lützerath is one of the most challenging operations in recent years. The operation should be carried out as de-escalating as possible, he said at an information event with representatives of the police and the district of Heinsberg. The Aachen police are in charge of operations.

The discussions during the event were sometimes highly emotional, like that WDR reported. Citizens and activists asked critical questions about the planned evacuation.

“We will not be pushed away”

Representatives of environmental organizations and local protest groups said they did not think the evacuation was necessary. They demanded a moratorium for the small town. In view of the climate crisis, coal production must be stopped, otherwise the 1.5 degree target cannot be met.

Climate activists have been living in empty houses in Lützerath for months. With other activists who have arrived, they want to oppose the eviction. “The police have now advanced massively and pressed massively,” said Johanna Inkermann from the “Lützerath Lives” initiative. “But we won’t let ourselves be pushed away. It’s an extremely dynamic situation.”

District Administrator: Federal and state decision

The district administrator of the Heinsberg district, Stephan Pusch, said that the city of Erkelenz and the district of Heinsberg had never been friends of opencast mining. He himself could not decide whether the coal would still be needed under Lützerath. “The state and federal governments have made a decision, I have to accept that.” With regard to climate activists, the CDU politician spoke of a symbolic policy at Lützerath in view of the early exit from coal.

The Greens-led economics ministries in the federal government and in North Rhine-Westphalia have agreed with the energy company RWE to phase out coal earlier and to preserve five villages at the Garzweiler opencast mine that are already largely empty. Lützerath, however, may be dredged. The site and houses in the village have long belonged to RWE.

The police have already cleared away the first barricades of the activists. However, the emergency services wrote on Twitter that this was not the start of the evacuation.