protest village
Before the expected eviction: heated atmosphere in Lützerath
Heavy clearing vehicles remove the barricades erected by climate activists in the presence of the police. photo
© Thomas Banneyer/dpa
The evacuation of the small town of Lützerath can start at any time. Aachen’s chief of police expects a period of up to four weeks. Police forces from all over Germany will be involved.
Before the evacuation expected today in the Rhenish lignite town of Lützerath, the mood among climate activists is heated. The police continued their preparatory work there yesterday and cleared barricades erected by the protest groups on the road to the site. The climate activists formed human chains and set up a sit-in.
According to the Aachen police, the operation should start today at the earliest. “We’re planning up to four weeks, but we hope it won’t take that long,” said Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach on Tuesday evening in Erkelenz. Lützerath is a district of the 43,000-inhabitant town in the west of North Rhine-Westphalia. The hamlet, located in the middle of fields, is now located directly on the edge of the Garzweiler lignite opencast mine. The coal underneath is to be mined to generate electricity.
Climate protectors call for a moratorium
At an information event about the operation in Erkelenz on Tuesday evening, the around 300 participants were mainly representatives of local climate protection initiatives who strictly reject opencast mining. They called for a moratorium in view of the imminent start of the evacuation and questioned the reports on which the use of the site for opencast lignite mining is based. Residents in neighboring villages complained about police helicopters flying close to their homes. The appearance of a private security service was also criticized.
According to police chief Weinspach, the forthcoming evacuation of the protest village is one of the most challenging operations in recent years. The police receive support from all over Germany. Activists have erected about 25 tree houses, some at great heights.
Worry about clashes with police
North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) was concerned about the safety of the emergency services in advance. “We have a certain proportion of violent activists in Lützerath. Their number is currently fluctuating every day,” Reul told the “Rheinische Post”. “Therefore, such an operation is always dangerous for the police, and I’m also constantly concerned about the safety of our officers.” However, the emergency services are well trained and trained. The police are well prepared in terms of logistics and personnel.
He explained: “We don’t know what the police officers are expecting in the houses in Lützerath. Are there traps or other barricades that we don’t see from the outside? We also don’t know how many people stand in the way of the emergency services will.” Reul added: “Caution is the order of the day these days.”
Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt called for a peaceful protest. This should not be “delegitimized by thoughtless actions,” she told the editorial network Germany (RND). At the same time, she defended the persistence of climate activists. “Branding the protesters in Lützerath or on the streets as crazy, turning them into criminals is unacceptable.”
Land and houses belong to RWE
The economics ministries led by the Greens in the federal and state governments of North Rhine-Westphalia have agreed with the energy company RWE to phase out coal by 2030. In addition, five already largely empty villages at the Garzweiler opencast mine in the vicinity of Lützerath are to be preserved. The small town of Lützerath on the edge of the opencast mine can be excavated. The premises and houses have long belonged to RWE. The legal disputes have finally been settled.
Due to the current energy crisis, power generation from lignite for the European power grid has recently been expanded again. In the Rhineland, there are two other lignite mines in Hambach and Inden.