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Swedish activist Greta Thunberg was withdrawn by three members of the Police, while she was participating in a protest against the expansion of an open pit mine, in Lützerath, Germany, on January 17. Demonstrations have increased in the area after the authorities evacuated the municipality, to demolish it and expand the coalfield.
Lützerath, a municipality in western Germany is demolished to expand a coal mine. And against this background, dozens of protesters, including the renowned climate activist Greta Thunberg, gathered in the place to raise their protest voice.
However, Thunberg was forcibly removed from the area by the German police along with other activists. The site is located about 9 km from Lützerath. The Swedish activist had sat down with other protesters near the edge of the mine.
The authorities indicated that the arrest occurred because the group got “too close” to the site and added that they would be released soon.
“There is no reason to hold them for days. It may take hours or they will leave immediately (…) Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who ran towards the ledge. However, she was later stopped and taken by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish his identity,” an Aachen police spokesman said.
Thunberg was carried by three uniformed officers at the time she was removed from the scene.
The protests have increased in recent days, after the authorities confirmed the demolition of the town.
Riot police, backed by bulldozers, removed the activists from buildings in the area last weekend, leaving only a few in the trees and in an underground tunnel. However, some protesters, including Thunberg, remained there organizing the demonstration on Tuesday.
Members of the government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz condemned the acts of resistance, which according to the Ministry of the Interior included violent actions and hindered the work of health teams.
But from the environmental movements that have called the protests, they indicate that the police acted with disproportionate force, including hitting the activists with batons.
A “betrayal of present and future generations”
The eviction of the village, belonging to the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, was agreed between the German energy company RWE and the government, in a pact that allowed the energy giant to demolish Lützerath in exchange for its faster exit. of coal and save five villages originally slated for destruction.
In the German municipality, the Swedish climate activist addressed around 6,000 protesters last Saturday, before whom she assured that the expansion of the mine is a “betrayal of present and future generations.”
Public television reported that Lützerath was cordoned off, after dozens of houses, farms and wooden buildings were demolished, amid strong police deployment and despite the resistance of the protesters.
The operation had been terminated on Monday, January 16, after the last two activists who had entrenched themselves in a tunnel left the place.
However, this Tuesday there were new actions by groups of protesters near the mine and in other parts of the region, including Düsseldorf, the state capital.
Despite police actions, those who warn about climate change are reluctant to stop the protests. Activists say Germany should stop mining lignite, a type of coal explored in the affected municipality, and instead the government should focus its efforts on expanding renewable energy.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
