Greta Thunberg (left) is the face of the international climate protection movement, Luisa Neubauer that of the German one.Image: dpa / Henning Kaiser
Germany
01/13/2023, 16:5801/13/2023, 18:46
For three days, activists have been blocking the evacuation of the village of Lützerath, which the energy company RWE wants to dredge up in order to extract the lignite underneath. How many activists are still holding out is not entirely clear. What is certain, however, is that they are using all means to prevent the eviction.
As it became known on Thursday, they have dug a tunnel under the village in which two activists are holed up. The technical relief organization had tried in vain to get the two out during the night. On Friday, the first farms in the village were demolished and more trees were cleared.
You can find out what’s happening in Lützerath in our live ticker. Here you can read how the second day of the eviction went on Thursday.
6.49 p.m .: Thousands come to Lützerath on Saturday: “No choice”
The police expect several thousand participants in the announced large-scale demonstration in Lützerath on Saturday. Among others, Greta Thunberg and Luisa Neubauer will be there. The spokeswoman for “Fridays for Future” in Hamburg, Annika Rittmann, also wants to be by her side. She reveals to watson how big the commitment is:
It is now up to all of us to live up to our responsibilities. And you can see now that many people are following suit, but also from the fact that tomorrow at 4.30 a.m. we are taking the bus to Lützerath with over 500 people. That’s really a lot, and yes, from Hamburg alone – the numbers are similar in Berlin.
Early in the morning, numerous activists from all over Germany want to defend themselves against the RWE project in Lützerath. Despite uncomfortable feelings, they are convinced that they are doing the right thing:
“When you stand in front of these huge excavators at this huge coal mine and see the people standing next to them, you can only be afraid. But it’s also this fear that keeps us on the road and gives us no other choice but to keep going. “
5:19 p.m .: Lützerath: demolition work on farmer Heukamp’s house
During the evacuation of Lützerath, an excavator started demolishing central buildings. Among them is the home of farmer Eckardt Heukamp. On a wall next to it, a yellow banner with the inscription “1.5°C means: Lützerath stays!” was visible from afar. hung. This courtyard wall hasn’t been standing since Friday afternoon.
5:02 p.m .: According to the police, no more activists in and on tree houses
According to the police, there are no longer any activists in the houses in Lützerath and on the roofs of the buildings. A spokesman told a dpa reporter on Friday afternoon. The clearing of the district of Erkelenz in the Rhenish lignite mining area is thus progressing. A tunnel in which two climate activists were holed up and several tree houses still have to be cleared.
According to the police, the tree houses in Lützerath are no longer occupied.Image: dpa / Henning Kaiser
4:32 p.m .: Large demonstration approved for Saturday
The large demonstration scheduled for Saturday near Lützerath has been approved by the authorities. Meanwhile, in some cities in Germany, there were statements of solidarity with the activists in Lützerath.
watson editor Josephine Andreoli was there at the “Fridays for Future” demo in Hamburg – and experienced great support for the protesters in Lützerath among the participants. “It is important for them to know that they have support everywhere in Germany”says a demonstrator named Paula.
Mega, Alex and Paula (from left) express their solidarity with the activists from Lützerath in Hamburg.picture: watson
3:24 p.m .: Greta Thunberg denounces “police violence” in Lützerath
The world-famous Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg came to Lützerath a day earlier than planned to express her solidarity with the squatters. Together with Luisa Neubauer, she demonstrated in front of the fence with which RWE has surrounded the site. According to “Bild”, she was greeted with applause by the activists present.
“It’s outrageous how police violence is,” said Thunberg. The 20-year-old also toured the open-pit lignite mine’s crater, holding up a sign that read, “Keep it in the ground.” She will also take part in the announced large-scale demonstration at the adjacent Garzweiler lignite mine on Saturday.
12.49 p.m .: Special forces have to get activists out of the tunnel
According to the police and Twitter videos, two climate activists are still waiting in a tunnel in Lützerath. According to police information, special forces from the fire brigade and THW must now get the two out of there. “I just think it’s terrible what dangers these people take on themselves,” said Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach on Friday after climbing a little way into the tunnel shaft.
According to him, the construction is not safe. Also because the permanent oxygen supply is questionable. However, he did not speak of an acute danger. The activists had previously announced that they wanted to chain themselves in the tunnel.
12:28 p.m .: 200 hooded people riot in Berlin to protest against eviction
More than 200 hooded perpetrators are said to have rioted in Berlin-Mitte in protest against the eviction of the village of Lützerath and smashed the shop windows of 26 shops. They set fire to garbage cans on Friday night and shot pyrotechnics at a police station, the police said. They also daubed facades and windows with slogans related to Lützerath.
10.49 a.m .: Police clear the last building in Lützerath
The police have started clearing the last occupied building in Lützerath. According to the authorities, there are only a few activists left in the village. Two of them are sitting in a tunnel under the lignite village, which is currently hampering the final evacuation. Nevertheless, the police also want to transport the last remaining activists today.
9.30 a.m .: Activists chain themselves to the RWE headquarters in Essen
On Friday, 25 to 30 activists gathered in front of the RWE headquarters for a demonstration against the eviction of Lützerath. Three of them chained themselves to the gate with bicycle locks.
The protest group “Last Generation” commented on the action on Twitter. RWE manipulate the German public and politics for many years with wrong numbers, most recently again with the question of whether the coal lying under Lützerath is really necessary to maintain the energy supply, the activists write.
Climate activists block access to the RWE site in Essen. Image: dpa / Roberto Pfeil
8.36 a.m .: Habeck reprimands protests and sees Lützerath as a “wrong symbol”
Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) has little understanding for the protests in Lützerath. “Lützerath is simply the wrong symbol,” Habeck told the “Spiegel”. The village would not stand for a continuation of the Garzweiler opencast lignite mine in the Rhineland, but “it’s the end of the line,” said Habeck.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck emphasizes that the evacuation of Lützerath is necessary. Image: IMAGO/NTB
They prefer the phase-out of coal in the coal mining area there by eight years to 2030, which was only made possible by the demolition of Lützerath. “We save five villages and farms with around 450 residents. The Hambacher Forest has been secured. The approved mining volume for coal in opencast mines was halved as a result of the agreement.”
8.23 a.m .: Activists want to chain themselves in the tunnel
The two activists in the tunnel under Lützerath are determined to chain themselves as soon as an attempt is made to get them out, a spokeswoman said of the “Lützerath is alive” initiative on Friday morning. According to “Lützerath Leben” the people are a good four meters deep. There is a “ventilation system”.
A first rescue attempt by the Technical Relief Agency had failed during the night. It was initially unclear when a new attempt would be made. The police said they couldn’t make eye contact with the people, but could talk to them.
Climate activists have been resisting the eviction of the brown coal village of Lützerath for days.Image: dpa / Thomas Banneyer
(with material from dpa)
In February, the elections to the House of Representatives in Berlin will be repeated. After the breakdowns in the election on September 26, 2021, the composition of the Berlin state parliament will be re-elected.
