A wonderful view …
… into the Hambach Forest offers this video made by the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/video/world/europe/100000005558932/protesting-coal-mining-from-a-treehouse-germany.html
Court Proposes Settlement
Live ticker in German
For the entire text (in German) quoted below, go to wdr.de
Open cast mine Hambach: in-court settlement failed
Settlement on the open cast mine Hambach failed
RWE rejects proposal
Court decision until Friday
In the trial about the lignite mine Hambach on Tuesday (Nov. 21th,2017) a settlement failed. The Verwaltungsgericht (Administrative Court) of Cologne had proposed to continue the open pit without felling the forest. The judges expected a coal exit in the foreseeable future.
RWE and a representative of the Land North Rhine-Westphalia stated that this would not be feasible. The BUND as plaintiff, however, supported the settlement. Another proposal by the court, to postpone the extraction limits of the opencast mine and to save the forest from digging, was rejected. By contrast, the BUND (Federation of Environment and Nature Conservation Germany) as a plaintiff could imagine a settlement in which the old Hambach Forest would be left out. Until Friday (24.11.2017) there will now be a judgment.
Protests outside the courthouse
On Tuesday morning, about 100 opponents and supporters of the opencast mine demonstrated before the start of the trial in front of the Cologne administrative court. Several environmental groups had announced protests for the preservation of the Hambach forest.
Between 2020 and 2030 almost all trees are to be cut, in order to advance the open-pit mine as planned shortly before the village of Buir. “Then we’ll look directly into a 440 meter deep hole, where almost the entire city of Cologne fits in and that is so unimaginable crazy, well that’s just terrible,” a 50-year-old man says. With his citizens’ group “Buirers for Buir”, Andreas Büttgen supports two new claims of the BUND. He wants to save the Hambach Forest and thus stop the open pit.
Judgment on Friday 11/24 at 10 o’clock, Verwaltungsgericht Köln.
Open Street Map
Hambi Solidartity Demo in Aachen
Aprox 460 people came together to express their support for Hambacher Forest in Aachen this afternoon. This was reflective of large suport groups forming in Bonn, Cologne and Aachen to help out during the cutting season and at eviction time. The demonstration included many Hambacher Forest Banners, Flags and signs. The participants and speakers included animal rights, anti-capitalists and local citizens. Who later walked next to christmas markets and shopping malls chanting “Hambi, Hambi, Hambi.. Bleibt!!!” “Climate Justice Now!” and the one echoing around the world “Anti, Anti, Anti-Capitalista!!!”
If you want to add to this momentum of Solidarity and Support please form a local Hambi Support Affinity group where you are and consider local demos/actions and support visits to the forest during this cutting season.
RWE Courtcase and Demo in Cologne
The courtcase of BUNDIS vs RWE started today with lots of noise outside made by trumpets and whistles of counter-protesters brought by pro-mining union of IgBCE who fortunately did not hang around for long and left soon after the media departed at the beggining of trial. This left behing over 60 pro-Hambi protesters who surrounded the court with Red Lines Fabric and numerous signs and banners. Inside, the court offered a compromise to the RWE representatives of mining around the forest and leaving Hambi as an intact island in the middle of the mine, this offer was refused for security reasons as no doubt having anarchist in treehouses in the middle of the largest single CO2 polluter in Europe was not easy for them to swallow. Having to leave megatons of carbon and lignite under the forest floor was no doubt also a factor. More offers and counter offers were made in a trial that was more like mediation, with Bundis stating that the buffer zone for the endangered species was not enough and the police stating that they will not be able to guard the cutting area. The final decission was postponed till friday also to strategically not have too many people in front of the courthouse when most likely not a very popular in not reflecting the sentiment of most of the population as far as advocating the coal exit, decission is made.
The great feeling of support to Hambi Defenders who are on the frontline 24/7 experiencing and awaiting constant repression was expressed by many supporters who came from Bonn, Cologne and through out the area. However that was somehow lessened by one of the organizers of the official demo asking masked hambi people to move to the other side of the street as not to interfere with the official permit, then liasoning with the police and asking them to move one more time a block away, and finally informing the people holding two banners who complied with the previous requests that the police will start aresting them if they do not disperse. It was sad to see activists who experienced physical repression take this to heart and become re-traumatized and concerned about risk of arrest for holding a banner and for the feeling of unity and trust with outside supporters begin to disintegrate. So don’t, but if for whatever reason you do choose to talk to the cops please remember that they are under no legal obligation to stand by any of their statements, regularly use comrade against comrade and often will tell you anything to achieve a strategic objective and if you do talk to the pigs(no offense to the real piggies) please do so representing only yourself and nobody else….
Once again its rather obvious that the capitalistic “Justice” system has been completly coopted by special interests such as RWE and works hand in hand with militarized intrstruments of repression. However that should be no reason to also forgo of paper-wrenching methods of making it as difficult as possible to accept whatever kick-downs it will take this time to assist RWE with destroying a priceless milenarian biodiversity hotspot such as Hambi, releasing megatons of CO2 and taking the planet through the point of no return. Do feel free to call them e-mail them and fax them to let them how you feel.