Protesters clash with police as they march on a German village in protest of the expansion of coal mines
Thousands of climate protesters descended on the abandoned German village of Luetzerath on Saturday to try and stop the hamlet’s destruction, which is slated to pave the way for the expansion of a nearby coal mine.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg joined the throngs of protesters who marched while enduring muddy and rainy conditions to demonstrate against the expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine. Despite ongoing controversy, demolition of Luetzerath is already underway.
The agreement between RWE and Germany’s energy conglomerate RWE was to clear the village. According to Reuters, RWE will destroy Luetzerath to exchange for a faster shift from fossil fuels.
The German government insisted that the protesters not take part, but they deplored the move and were seen fighting with police officers when the march reached boiling point. The total number of protesters is unclear — organizers said 35,000 people had shown up, while law enforcement put the figure closer to 10,000, per The Associated Press.
Some of the protestors had been camping out at Luetzerath since days. They clashed with police while the bulldozing of Luetzerath was underway. The bulldozers and riot police had already backed the Riot Police. been clearing protesters from Luetzerath for at least two days before Saturday’s events.
Thunberg said, “What everyone does matters.” AP. “If one of the largest polluters, like Germany, and one of the biggest historical emitters of CO2 is doing something like this, then, of course, it affects more or less everyone — especially those most bearing the brunt of the climate crisis.”
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