Aachen: A group of activists who occupied the Garzweiler lignite mine in western Germany over the weekend in protest against coal mining and climate change have all been cleared from the site, police said on Sunday.
The mine has been free from activists since midday, the police said. However, some protesters were still blocking nearby train tracks that usually serve as a coal transport route to the Neurath lignite-fired power plant.
About 250 protesters stayed overnight to Sunday in the mine, which is owned by German energy giant RWE, and were being removed from the premises by police on Sunday morning.
The region has been the site of protests since Friday, when demonstrators first began blocking the train tracks.
Some 8,000 people began a march early Saturday from Keyenberg along the edge of the mine. That protest was peaceful, including students of the “Fridays for Future” rallies against climate change, as well as families and older protesters.
However, a protest group called “Ende Gelaende,” which describes itself as a civil disobedience protest movement to limit global warming, also led a separate march of some 1,600 people who attempted to break through a police line and storm the mine.
The protesters, wearing white paper overalls, could be seen on videos published online by the organisers, hooting and clapping as police commanded them to stay put.
Police used pepper spray to try to stop the activists. On their Twitter feed, activists spoke of “police violence.” According to the police, eight police officers were injured.
The police were unable to confirm reports of injured demonstrators. There was also no exact information on how many demonstrators had been taken into custody.
Police rejected the activists’ criticism that the arrested people had not been supplied with food and drinks for hours. Katrin Henneberger, a spokeswoman for Ende Gelaende, confirmed that the protesters had now left the mine. — dpa
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