LUETZERATH, Germany (AP) — German police continued Friday to clean up a village that will be demolished to house a coal mine, with activists still locked in a building, tree houses and a tunnel.
Ahead of a nearby protest on Saturday, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg visited the small town of Luetzerath and took a look at the nearby Garzweiler open-pit coal mine. . “
Luetzerath has a critical point in the debate over Germany’s climate efforts.
The operation to evict climate activists hiding in the village began Wednesday morning, with some stones, fireworks and other items thrown at advancing officials, but no primary violence. Most of the protest was peaceful.
Police began clearing the last occupied building on Friday, and police said they then pulled other activists from tree houses, German news firm dpa reported.
There were also two activists in a tunnel. Regional police leader Dirk Weinspach looked at the well and reported the dangers they were in, dpa reported, but said he did not believe there was a serious danger to them. He said specialized rescuers pulled them out.
Environmentalists say demolishing the village to expand the Garzweiler mine would result in massive amounts of greenhouse fuel emissions. The government and the RWE app say coal is to ensure Germany’s energy security.
Some protesters complained of superior force through police and others said the scale of the police response, with officials brought in from across the country and water cannons waiting, itself a form of unjustified escalation through nonviolent protest.
Regional and national governments, either of which come with the Green Green Party, reached an agreement with RWE last year that allows it to destroy the deserted village in exchange for ending coal use until 2030, instead of 2038.