Last weekend, clashes broke out again during protests against coal mining in the German village of Lützerath. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg also joined the fray. After appearing as a keynote speaker at a meeting, she surprisingly reappeared at the edge of the opencast lignite mine.
There was a spontaneous demonstration against the demolition of the village, along with other activists Thunberg sang and danced on the edge of the mine (see video above). According to a Police spokesman Thunberg then briefly sat down on a wall. For her own safety, the 20-year-old was asked to leave the wall. When she didn’t, the officers carried her a few paces away. The young Swede then went her own way.
“Proceed Harmoniously”
The incident was “harmonious,” police said. However, a video (see below) shows Thunberg being pushed away by police officers along with German activist Luisa Neubauer and other protesters. Due to this incident and further clashes between activists and police, allegations of police brutality have been leveled.
The interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, Herbert Reul (CDU), took the police under protection on Sunday evening. This worked “very professionally”, he said on the ARD talk show “Anne Will”. German activist Luisa Neubauer contradicted this, saying from her point of view the operation was disproportionately violent.
Police brutality must be investigated
But he will have any case of inappropriate police brutality investigated. “We’ve seen a few movies on the internet where we thought, ‘This doesn’t look good.’ We are going to take a good look at that, we have also filed a declaration as a precaution, because I think that should be checked,” he said, referring to the practice of recent years. But it’s not like there were crowds of “mad cops” at the demo. He wanted the organizers of the demo to clearly distance themselves from violence, but that didn’t happen.
Climate activist Luisa Neubauer contradicted this, accusing the police of a disproportionately violent operation on the show. “It didn’t look professional in any way,” she criticized – pointing out that according to a paramedic for the protesters, many people had been seriously injured by police. The protest against it was peaceful.
Police officers got stuck in the mud
A video showing several police officers getting stuck in the mud during Saturday’s operation shows bizarre moments amid much more serious scenes. As the officers try to break free, they are taunted by a protester dressed as a monk. If a police officer is able to get back up, he is summarily run over again by the disguised man (see below).
According to the police, some 1,000 mostly masked “disturbers” tried to enter the closed-off area of Lützerath on the edge of the large demonstration. Police used water cannons, batons and pepper spray. Twelve people were arrested or taken into custody. According to the police, nine activists were taken to hospital by ambulance. On Sunday, the police completed the evacuation of the protest village near the Rhineland brown coal mine, except for two activists who are still holding out in a tunnel. Most of the buildings had already been demolished by Sunday.
Mining should begin in March
The energy company RWE assumes that the demolition of Lützerath will be completed soon. The dismantling is expected to take eight to ten days, according to a spokesman for the “Rheinische Post”. “In March or April, the opencast mine could then reach and excavate the former village.” The police want to remain on site until the end of the dismantling.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
