ACTIVISTS THROW ROCKS, POLICE ANSWERS WITH GUNSHOTS

Tensions are rising in and around the 12,000 year old Hambach forest.

This morning (Wednesday 12^th of September, at around 10:30) a police-officer fired a warning-shot in response to an attack by masked militants allegedly throwing rocks at police-officers and -cars, on the L276, a.k.a. the Secu-Road.

The current situation in the Rheinish lignite-mining area, with the strong police presence, the forced isolation, the continuous controls, and the constant threat of eviction of the climate-justice occupation, is putting a large amount of psychological pressure on activists, as well as to some extent police officers in the area.

Therefore we are asking for a general de-escalation of the situation in and around the Hambach Forest, in order to give activists, as well as state-workers, a much needed break.

For this the first step would be the removal of the limited state-of-emergency, or the so-called “danger-zone”, and secondly a clear message from energy-giant RWE that the climate-justice occupation camp will not be the target of an eviction or any other police action.

The removal of the state of “danger-zone”, and the ending of the deployment of several hundred police-officers, would also free up large amounts of resources in the state of NRW, which could then be directed towards the much more pressing topic of a transition towards green energy.

EVICTION OF GROUND STRUCTURES IN THE HAMBACH FOREST, PREPARING FOR SOONLY EXPECTED TREEHOUSE EVICTION

Since 7:30 AM police officers of the German state, in cooperation with RWE employees, have been clearing ground structures and barricades in the occupied Hambach forest.
Huts, shelters, and other necessary infrastructure (including compost-toilets and kitchens) have been destroyed all over the forest.

In clearing the road for their machinery, the police evicted three occupied barricades; two tripods and a monopod. In order to protect the structure, an activist locked themselves on in a 2.5 meter deep tunnel below the tripod.
Although they were equipped with a cherrypicker and several climbing-cops, the cops did not manage to fully evict the barricades before 17:20.

The people evicted from the barricades were alongside other activists violently arrested, and put into detention in the city of Aachen, excluding one activist, who was brought to the hospital in Bergheim with a broken arm, as a result of state violence
Outside the detention center supporters gathered to welcome the activists once released, but even this peaceful support was harassed by the police,

This attack on the movement for climate-justice in the Rheinland marks one of the largest escalations from the German police in the struggle for the Hambach forest.

While the police aggressively attacked the protest-camp, around 700 people attended a demonstration walking from the nearby city of Buir along the forest, protesting the dismantling of civil-rights and the clearing of the 12.000 year old forest, by fossil-fuel-giant RWE. The demonstration, a colourful group of people young and old, was escorted by a large amount of police officers, as well as cops on horses. The demonstration ended at the edge of the forest, and people could enter the forest unhindered.

The frontlines have been clearly drawn, with the state fighting on the side of RWE and the coal-lobby, and activists fighting for the preservation of nature and climate justice.
This day is only one of many more to come, and Day X seems to be coming closer every hour.

EVICTION OF GROUND- AND BLOCKADESTRUCTURES IN THE HAMBACH FOREST

Currently RWE employees in cooperation with the police forces of the NRW are evicting ground- and Blockadestructures in the Hambach Forest occupation.

Since 7:30 AM, a large amount of police officers have begun a violent eviction in the occupied forest protest-camp, further escalating the situation in the struggle about the 12.000 year old forest.

The huts, tents and improvised shelters being destroyed by the forces of the German state function not only as a base for organizing the resistance, but as a living space for a large group of people.
The repressive police action is therefore not only an attack against the movement for the preservation of the forest and for climate justice, but an attack on autonomous spaces worldwide and alternatives to the capitalist system.

The destruction of the ground structures includes the eviction of an occupied barricade, a so-called tripod, where activists are currently locked on, to further complicate the work of the police.

This violent escalation follows the call from Herbert Reul, interior minister of NRW, for a policy of “zero-tolerance” towards the climate activists in the forest. In this way Herbert Reul actively protects the interest of the energy-company RWE and the coal-lobby.