Last activists leave hamlet at heart of German coal protest
CTV
The last two climate activists holed up beneath a German village due to be destroyed for the expansion of a nearby coal mine left the site on Monday.
The last two climate activists holed up beneath a German village due to be destroyed for the expansion of a nearby coal mine left the site on Monday.
The activists -- identified only by their nicknames "Pinky" and "Brain" -- had remained inside a self-dug tunnel for days in a bid to prevent heavy equipment from being brought in to bulldoze the hamlet of Luetzerath, west of Cologne.
Meanwhile, anti-coal protests continued in the region, with eight activists chaining themselves to a giant digger at another nearby mine and others abseiling from a bridge to block access to Luetzerath. Both of those protests ended after several hours.
Activists have cited the symbolic importance of Luetzerath for years, and thousands of people demonstrated Saturday against the razing of the village by RWE energy company for the expansion of the Garzweiler coal mine.
Police and RWE began evicting activists Wednesday from Luetzerath, removing roadblocks, chopping down treehouses and bulldozing buildings. By Sunday, they said the operation had almost finished.
The government and RWE say the coal beneath Luetzerath is needed to ensure Germany's energy supply in the coming years. Environmental campaigners and scientists dispute this and warn that burning tens of millions of tons of coal would undermine Germany's climate goals.
Protesters accused police of using undue force during last week's demonstration.
