Taking activists away, tearing down houses, clearing trees - according to Interior Minister Reul, a large-scale operation is imminent in the brown coal village of Lützerath. It is not clear when exactly the police will arrive. But there are rough plans.
Lützerath/Düsseldorf (dpa/lnw) - According to police plans, the lignite village of Lützerath, which is occupied by activists, is to be cleared at the beginning of the coming year. "The eviction will probably take place in January," said a spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior in Düsseldorf on Saturday. Specifically, a decision will be made if there is a request for enforcement from the municipality. The "Spiegel" had previously reported about it.
The state executive of the left in North Rhine-Westphalia spoke out against the eviction in principle. They want to increase the presence and support of the protests in Lützerath and call on members to take part, it said in a statement on Saturday. "The decision of the black-green state government to allow RWE to excavate huge additional lignite deposits in the Rhenish mining area torpedoes compliance with the climate targets," said state spokesman Sascha Wagner. Civil disobedience is more than legitimate.
North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) announced on Thursday a large-scale operation in which squatters would be taken away, barricades removed, houses demolished and trees cleared in one fell swoop. According to the ministry spokesman, the responsible municipality - i.e. the city of Erkelenz - must contact the police with a request for enforcement.
Lützerath is to be dredged for coal production. Activists who want to fight for the place live in the houses whose former residents have moved away. At the beginning of October, the Green-led economics ministries in the federal government and North Rhine-Westphalia agreed with the energy company RWE to phase out coal in the Rhenish Revier by 2030.
