by Paolo Foschi
The 20-year-old Swede took part in the rally of activists in Lutzerath against the expansion of the colliery. Clashes broke out between demonstrators and police over the weekend
Greta Thunberg was kidnapped by German police while taking part in environmental protests in Lutzerath, Germany, against the expansion of the Garzweiler colliery. The German media has released a video showing the 20-year-old Swede being lifted up by two officers. According to local press reports, the police had ordered those present to leave, but Greta didn’t move. Local authorities then explained that the girl was not stopped, only removed because she was sitting on a low wall of the mine in a dangerous area.
Thunberg had joined the protest the previous weekend. Then she returned to the garrison on Sunday, accompanied by dozens of activists, and together they occupied one of the fields that German energy giant Rwe wants to reclaim – it already has the permits – by mining 280 million tons of coal by 2030 to start. The village of Lutzerath, once inhabited by 2000 people, is now deserted and has become a symbol of environmentalists’ fight against fossil fuels.
The tug-of-war between activists and security forces had lasted for days, the evacuation campaign in the occupied areas had begun on Wednesday and there had already been the first violent clashes. The environmentalists tried to resist by hiding in areas within areas that were at the heart of the conflict, only to return when the police dropped their guard. Over the weekend, the protest drew more environmentalists, including Greta Thunberg. There were at least 35,000 people, activists said on Saturday, a fact that is difficult to confirm. Instead, the police used riot squads and also a mounted unit. Tension ran high throughout the weekend, with object throwing and police attacks beginning on Saturday. The provisional number of 20 injured among the demonstrators and 70 among the law enforcement officers.
January 16, 2023 (change January 16, 2023 | 2:35 am)
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