The clearing operation for the climate activist-occupied village of Lützerath in the lignite mining area in North Rhine-Westphalia started on Wednesday morning. As the responsible Aachen police headquarters wrote on Twitter, police forces surrounded the place. Activists and police officers clashed on the outskirts of the occupied lignite town of Lützerath. There were initially no direct confrontations on Wednesday morning.
An activist appeals to officials to stop the operation. “This mission can’t have been the reason you became a police officer.”
Police union appealed to activists
The police union (GdP) in North Rhine-Westphalia said the “hot phase of the police operation to clean up” started this Wednesday. The legal situation is clear that Lützerath may be dredged for coal production. “If we no longer accept the decisions of our courts, our rule of law will end,” said GdP state chairman Michael Mertens. “All peaceful climate defenders are called upon to distance themselves from violent criminals and isolate them!”
Power company owns the settlement
The energy company RWE wants to expand the Garzweiler opencast mine next to Lützerath and extract the coal lying under the town, for which the village abandoned by the previous inhabitants must be demolished. The company now owns the estate.
The conflict over Lützerath has been going on for months, the place is a central symbol for climate protection activists from all over Germany. The evacuation, which has been announced for some time and will involve the police in so-called administrative assistance, is awaited with concern due to possible escalations.
Source: Krone
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