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At the Garzweiler open pit mine in the Rhenish lignite district, climate activists protest against the extraction of lignite and the resettlement of residents for open pit mining. There should be a demonstration at noon.
Opponents of lignite mining have occupied a coal digger at the Garzweiler open pit mine in the Rhineland. Some of them had been sprayed with fake blood, said the environmental protection movement Extinction Rebellion. The action is symbolic of the death of millions of people caused by the climatic consequences of power generation from lignite, he said. “Thousands of people die every day because corporations like RWE burn lignite, which has long-term and global climate consequences,” said the group’s press spokesman.
Complaints against the police
A spokeswoman for the Aachen police said that three activists were currently in the bulldozer. The police try to persuade them to stop the operation. Several participants would be retained for identification purposes.
The activists accused RWE security personnel of “violent attacks”. Security guards strangled those involved and pushed some down the steep stairs of the excavator. A cameraman who broadcast a live broadcast had his hood removed until he could no longer breathe. RWE people also threw a journalist to the ground and twisted her arms. They took away her press card and destroyed her camera.
A spokesperson for the RWE group rejected this. “While attempting to occupy an excavator, two of our employees were violently run over,” the spokesperson said. tagesschau.de. The employees reported it. Despite repeated requests, the filming and photographing ban was violated. Therefore, a camera was secured and handed over to the police. “We respect freedom of expression and freedom of demonstration, of course. But behavior that endangers human life is unacceptable,” the spokesman said.
Luisa Neubauer from Fridays for Future was also present. She defended the actions of the occupiers. “Civil disobedience is always a matter of context,” he said. “And here we experience that the injustice is so great, the rights of the people are so trampled on that one has to defend oneself against it.” Of course, the protest must always be peaceful.
Demonstration against resettlement
At noon, a demonstration will take place near the open pit mine, which had previously been convened by an alliance of those affected by the open pit mine and environmental and climate protectors. The demands of the protests are directed under the slogan “All the towns remain. Now more than ever” against the resettlement of residents under the open sky.
The North Rhine-Westphalia state government is about to make a new major planned decision for the Rhenish lignite district, to which the Garzweiler II open pit mine belongs. It was originally planned to run until 2045. Despite the decision to phase out coal by 2038 at the latest, the remaining sites will be dredged in the next few years and residents will relocate.
