German police prepare to clear climate activists from condemned coal village

Police officers stand guard as activists protest on 8 January 2023. Protesters oppose the destruction of the hamlet of Luetzerath, Germany for the expansion of the Garzweiler open-cast lignite mine by Germany’s utility RWE. Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen / REUTERS

9 January 2023 (DPA) – German police will soon move to evict climate activists from a deserted village in the west of the country before its demolition for opencast coal mining, a senior officer said Monday.

Energy giant RWE intends to demolish Lützerath in order to mine the area. Residents have left, but climate activists have occupied several buildings there.

The squatters in Lützerath could “expect the eviction to begin from the day after tomorrow or the following days,” Aachen police chief Dirk Weinspach said, citing an earlier ruling by authorities in the region.

Activists clash with police officers at Luetzerath, Germany on 8 January 2023. Photo: Thilo Schmuelgen / REUTERS

Later on Monday, a leader of the opposition Left Party said she would join activists protesting the plans.

“I will participate in activities there,” Janine Wissler said in Berlin.

She called the planned mining a “frontal attack on climate protection” and “madness.” At the same time, she appealed to North Rhine-Westphalia’s Interior Minister Herbert Reul to be reasonable when it came to upcoming police operations to remove the protestors.

Her announcement comes as protestors awaited a state administrative court decision on whether a lower court ruling banning the activists from occupying Lützerath was lawful. Court officials said on Friday that a decision could come on Monday at the earliest but did not outline a timetable.

Climate protection activists try to knock down a fence on the outskirts of Luetzerath. The village of Luetzerath is to be mined for the expansion of the Garzweiler II open pit lignite mine. Photo: Oliver Berg / DPA

The expected ruling follows a lower court in Aachen’s rejection on Thursday of an urgent appeal from activists.

Once home to just under 100 people who have now been resettled, the land and houses of Lützerath now belong to the RWE energy company, which in 2013 obtained a Constitutional Court ruling to access large coal deposits in the area.

While many of the houses were already demolished, the remaining buildings have been occupied by several dozen activists who oppose the removal and burning of the coal.

German police prepare to clear activists from condemned coal village