erkelenz In the lignite town of Lützerath, which was occupied by activists, it remained quiet after the violent clashes early on Saturday evening on Sunday night. A reporter from the dpa news agency reports that the police, who are protecting the site on the edge of the Garzweiler lignite opencast mine, have been on patrol again and again. The fire brigade regularly checked a ventilation device in a tunnel in which two activists should continue to hold out.
The energy company RWE spoke on Saturday of preparations to get the two activists out of the tunnel. “We are working on a rescue concept,” said a company spokesman. One is also in contact with external experts and the technical relief organization. “The two sitting down there say they are fine.” They would have no problems with fresh air.
The police want to continue the evacuation of Lützerath on Sunday. “It will continue throughout the day,” said a spokesman in the morning. “A few tree structures are still being checked.” According to the police, only a few activists are still in the village area, which has been cordoned off since Wednesday. The number of people is estimated to be in the single digits, the spokesman said.
Large parts of the site were floodlit in the early morning. Excavators drove onto the site to demolish more buildings.
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The village of Lützerath, a district of Erkelenz west of Cologne, has been cordoned off by the police for days and is surrounded by a double fence. there has been clearing since Wednesday. The few buildings in the settlement will be demolished to enable the energy company RWE to excavate the lignite underneath. On the other hand, many thousands of people demonstrated in the neighboring district of Keyenberg on Saturday.
An excavator continues to demolish the yard of the last farmer in Lützerath on Sunday morning.
(Photo: dpa)
According to the police, the demonstrators partially climbed over and damaged them.
(Photo: dpa)
The organizers estimated the number at 35,000, the police spoke of 15,000 participants. Around 5,000 of them did not take part in the meeting, said a police spokesman. They would have immediately moved in the direction of the quarry edge and Lützerath. They were therefore regarded as “disturbers”.
Clashes broke out between these demonstrators and the police on the fringes of the demonstration. According to police, people were injured on both sides. The exact number of injured and the circumstances that led to the injuries were not initially known. It was not initially announced whether there were arrests.
The police warn of danger to life because the ground was softened by the rain and there was a risk of landslides.
(Photo: dpa)
Police also used tear gas to push back the protesters.
(Photo: Reuters)
According to the police, around 1,000 mostly masked “troublemakers” had tried to get to the closed-off village area and the demolition edge of the opencast mine. Several emergency vehicles that formed a barrier in front of the construction fence were climbed over and damaged. Police used water cannons, batons and pepper spray to repel them after people were threatened with coercion “countless times”.
The police warned that it was life-threatening to walk to the edge of the mine because the ground had softened due to the rain and there was a risk of landslides. “I am absolutely horrified at how normal meeting participants allow themselves to be carried away into entering the absolute danger area,” said Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach.
Economist Kemfert: “Coal under Lützerath is not needed”
According to the police, individual demonstrators also attacked police vehicles and threw pyrotechnics in the direction of the officers. A spokesman said tires were punctured and wing mirrors kicked off.
A spokesman on the rally stage had previously explicitly called on the demo participants to ignore police instructions. He thinks it’s legitimate if the participants try to get into the cordoned-off Lützerath, he said: “Don’t let the police stop you. we are powerful We are on the side of justice. We will not let this repressive system stop us. We stop this mine. Do whatever you think is right.”
>> Read here: “The right argument in the wrong place” – Lützerath puts the Greens in need of explanation
The energy company RWE said in the evening that they were “appalled at the aggression and violence that emanated from some of the activists”. This has nothing to do with the otherwise peaceful demonstration. “Anyone who completely uninhibitedly throws stones and firecrackers at police officers and tries to break through barriers is not criticizing energy policy, but is attacking the social foundation of our constitutional state.”
Climate activist Greta Thunberg spoke on stage in front of the demonstrators.
(Photo: dpa)
The main speaker at the rally was Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. “Lützerath is still there, and as long as the coal is still in the ground, this fight is not over,” said the 20-year-old to the cheers of the audience.
It is incomprehensible to her that coal will still be mined and burned in 2023, although it is well known that the climate change caused by this is costing human lives in many parts of the world. “Germany, as one of the world’s biggest polluters, has an enormous responsibility,” Thunberg warned.
More: Barricades and sirens – this is how the police cleared the Lützerath protest camp