Eviction on the home stretch: activists in the tunnel

Created: 01/13/2023Updated: 01/13/2023 09:21

Police officers are standing in front of a building in which activists have holed up in a tunnel.

© Rolf Vennenbernd/dpa

The clearing of the Lützerath settlement, which is threatened by lignite mining, is already nearing completion.

The police want to get to their destination this Friday.

The tunnels are the biggest problem.

Erkelenz – The police want to largely complete the clearance of the Lützerath settlement this Friday.

"We want to clear all structures as quickly as possible, if possible today," said a police spokesman on request.

The two discovered tunnels are particularly imponderable.

It is unclear whether their evacuation will be successful on Friday.

As before, two activists held out in one of the underground tunnels.

The entrance to the tunnel was largely blocked off on Friday morning.

In addition to police officers, firefighters were also on site.

On Thursday, a video of two hooded men posted on the YouTube platform caused a stir.

"Pinky" and "Brain" state that they are in the tunnel under Lützerath.

"We have indications that the video is authentic," said a police spokesman on Friday.

According to police, the night passed quietly.

On Friday morning, activists from the Extinction Rebellion group, among others, appeared in front of the RWE headquarters in Essen.

They demanded a halt to the eviction of Lützerath.

According to them, several of them chained themselves to the entrance gate.

The police arrived with several patrol cars after the RWE security service reported the incident.

The police reported that more than 300 people had left Lützerath by the evening on Thursday.

The police initially did not say on Friday how many squatters were still on the fenced-off site.

According to a dpa reporter, there were still several dozen.

While the stone houses are still standing, almost all of the wooden huts have been leveled.

But there is also a wooden construction on stilts.

Activists continue to defy the weather on it.

The constant rain during the night ended in the morning.

During the night, the climate activists had endured heavy rain, strong winds and temperatures below ten degrees.

The police initially did not clear further.

In the morning, employees of an external company began clearing away rubble and felling trees on behalf of RWE.

According to the police, the identity of around 70 people was determined on Thursday.

Criminal charges were filed against six people for resisting law enforcement officers and damaging property.

Since the start of the operation, judges have sent three people into long-term custody, it said.

Two of them were released after they disclosed their personal details.

also read

Lützerath evacuation: Luisa Neubauer is carried away – police discover underground tunnels

TO READ

Lützerath evacuation: Operation continues in the dark - Neubauer criticizes the police

TO READ

Climate activists are attacked by passers-by - and reap "deepest respect" for their reaction

TO READ

Climate activists in Cologne: bloody affair - policeman tears hand from climate adhesive from the asphalt

TO READ

Climate activists in Lützerath concrete themselves in – and apparently have to ask the police for help

TO READ

Fancy a voyage of discovery?

My space

According to the information, eleven emergency services injured themselves without external influence, two police officers could not continue their service.

Five police officers were injured by outside influence, but were able to remain on duty.

On the part of the occupier scene, one person was slightly injured.

Climate Protection Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) showed little understanding for the massive protests against the demolition of Lützerath for lignite mining.

“There are many good reasons to demonstrate for more climate protection, including against the Greens.

But Lützerath is simply the wrong symbol," Habeck told the "Spiegel".

The village is not the symbol for a continuation of the Garzweiler lignite mine in the Rhineland, but "it is the final line," said Habeck.

The coal phase-out in the local coal mining area is preferred by eight years to 2030, which was always the goal of the climate movement.

“We save five villages and farms with around 450 residents.

The Hambach Forest has been secured.

The agreement has halved the permitted amount of open pit coal.”

Aachen's chief of police was satisfied with the progress of the operation on Thursday: "The clearing of the above-ground structures is largely complete," he emphasized on WDR.

“We cleared almost all the houses except for one.

The meadow has been cleared, most of the tree houses have been cleared.

In this respect, there is not that much left.” dpa