Thousands of activists at a demonstration against the evacuation of Lützerath

ANP

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 14:00

At least 20,000 activists have joined a demonstration against the eviction of the German lignite village of Lützerath. That village, just across the border near Roermond, is occupied by climate activists who do not want the heavily polluting lignite to be dug.

The demonstration started late in the morning in the nearby village of Keyenberg. There, the demonstrators left for a five-kilometer march to Lützerath, where speeches are held in a nearby meadow. People continue to come to the village to join even after the demonstration has started, causing traffic to come to a standstill.

Activists from all over Europe have come to the demonstration. Hundreds of Dutch, Austrian, Belgian, French and Italian people are present. Buses drove to the village from the Netherlands. Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, who visited the lignite village yesterday, is also taking part in the demonstration.

Dozens of Dutch activists participate in the demonstration:

Demonstration in the rain against the eviction of Lützerath

From Keyenberg it is not far to the excavation where lignite has already been dug. Hundreds of police officers stand between the activists and the excavation to prevent people from entering.

Village evacuation

It is the fourth day of the eviction for the police. In the village there are still a few activists in houses and tree houses. In recent days, 470 activists were taken from Lützerath, 320 of them eventually left voluntarily. Four protesters were injured.

Earlier, the police expected an evacuation of weeks, but now it seems to be ready after a few days. There are many more cops than activists.

Energy company RWE wants to make the village disappear in order to extract lignite. According to the German government, this is necessary in the current energy crisis. Without Russian gas, lignite will be needed until more renewable energy can be generated, the government says.

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