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Several hundred environmental activists blocked the Garzweiler open pit mine and a gas power plant in the Rhenish lignite mining area. A large number of police officers are in action. There is a disruption to train traffic in the region.
There is another demonstration in the Rhenish lignite mining area: on Saturday morning, several hundred activists stormed the Garzweiler open pit mine, among other places. As announced by a Aachen police spokeswoman, some 200 people managed to occupy a part of the mine that was no longer in use. This is a filled dredge pit, a so-called coal bunker. The “End of the Terrain” alliance, which organized the campaigns, calls for the immediate elimination of the use of coal for power generation in Germany.
In addition, several hundred police officers are working at the Weisweiler coal-fired power plant, where a group from the action alliance blocks the conveyor belts and demonstrates in front of the plant. In addition, “Fridays for Future” and the alliance “All Villages Should Stay” called a demonstration in Garzweiler for a quick phase-out of coal power. In the course of further mining of coal, the RWE group wants to relocate the residents of five villages and dredge the villages.
Gas power plant also occupied for the first time
This time, the protests were not directed only against lignite. Around 150 protesters also moved in front of a gas power plant in Düsseldorf, police confirmed. The gas is also “extremely damaging to the climate,” said an “Endegebiet” spokeswoman. For example, methane is released during the production and transportation of natural gas, which is a much stronger greenhouse gas than CO2.
Currently, the gas infrastructure is being expanded significantly, the spokeswoman said. “It is crazy to invest billions in natural gas, pipelines and fracking ports instead of renewable energy.”
Effects on rail traffic
The protests affected rail traffic in the region. Regional trains and S-Bahn trains have either been diverted due to police investigations or have failed entirely, Deutsche Bahn said. Police announced that there could be “new closures and short notice measures” on train traffic.
“End of the terrain” accused the police of having stopped trains to make it more difficult for activists to travel to recorded meetings. Aachen police said the barriers at individual train stations were “tactical measures” to prevent more people from entering the mine.
The action alliance announced that around 3,000 participants must take part in the lockdown actions during the day. The police have a large number in action. Aachen Police Chief Dirk Weinspach had announced a constant intervention in violent and illegal actions.
