Second Day of Evictions! Support needed! [Hambach forest - Germany]
Wanneer: 16/03/2016 - 12:07
Yesterday morning the meadow occupation near the Hambach forest was surrounded by police. This turned into a huge police operation: All main paths in the forest were cleared, fixed and broadened,, all barricades and tripods destroyed. Until today three unoccupied occupations were evicted (Crusty Town, Pizza, Molly). Police forces are still present all around, chasing people who try to build new barricades.
This is an urgent call-out for all kinds of support! What has happened the last two days is a massive attack! Because all the roads are cleared and passable for big machinery it’s important to protect the forest occupations NOW!
Come to the Hambach forest, we need food, water, blankets and most of all more people with fresh energy!
Ticker: http://hambachforest.blogsport.de/2016/03/15/second-day-of-evictions-sup...
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Hambach forest occupation?
The remaining Hambach forest – originally part of a 6000 hectare large old-growth forest – is ecologically unique in Europe. For more than 30 years the energy corporation RWE is cutting it down. Today, less than 500 hectare remain; however, all of it is to be cut down to make space for the mine in the years to come – at least these are the plans of RWE and the government.
All this because underneath the forest the one finds the so called “brown gold”: lignite (that is a type of coal). Lignite has been exploited in the Rhineland between Aachen and Cologne for more than hundred years. In 1970 the large-scale lignite extraction project has been approved. This project included three huge open cast pits, the the extension of existing as well as the construction of new coal power plants, and the development of the necessary infrastructure. This led to the closure of smaller open cast pits, industrial facilities, and a reduction of agricultural economy in the region. A change that left its traces in the whole of West-Germany (GFR). Stock market trade, the arms race of the cold war period, and billions of Deutsche Mark invested in the restructuring of industries all fostered this process.
The extraction of and the energy production from lignite is among the largest emittents of CO2 globally. Lignite contributes to a life-threatening environment, destroys whole landscapes and thus annihilates them for all times. Each year from October 1st until March 31st RWE continues to cut down the Hambach forest to make space for its open cast mine. 180 days of resistance against this destructive machinery are our answer.
We demonstrate and inform: we make the consequences of lignite mining and electricity visible and present possibilities to act, thus establishing a counter-publicity. We demonstrate and inform: through direct interference with the tree-cutting work and beyond. Thus the tree-cutting is made more difficult and more expensive. We aim for financial damage. We experiment: by exchange of experience and by lerning new skills. We are building a network on both regional and international levels. The result is the self organization of our everyday life and a continuous questioning of our own actions. Organizing the way we live together ourselves is what enables our resistance in the first place. Because our actions are the result of our attitudes and ways of living.
Website: http://hambachforest.blogsport.de
Email: hambacherforst(at)riseup.net
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Images of destruction from the day after: http://hambacherforst.blogsport.de/2016/03/17/bilder-der-zerstoerung-vom...
Large Scale Operation by Police, Security and RWE in the Hambach Forest
Kerpen/Buir. On Monday morning, 03/14/2016 at 7:00 am, the protest camp in the Hambach Forest near Morschenich (between Aachen and Cologne, Germany) and the nearby forest occupations were temporarily surrounded by police forces and security service. During this operation, several hundreds, equestrian and dog units as well as clearing vehicles of the NRW police were on duty. Furthermore, employees and machinery of the energy group RWE were involved.
On March 14 and 15 2016, the barricades were removed from the forest roads. At the same time these forest roads were widened and covered with a thick sand-gravel mixture in order to enable large vehicles and police cars to enter seamlessly the Hambach Forest.
For more than four years, activists are occupying the Hambach Forest, amongst others with tree houses as forms of blockage, in order to obstruct the clearing work.During the operations on March 14 and 15 three tree occupations were evicted (at the time of the evacuation they were not occupied) and a tunnel in the disused landfill near Morschenich was destroyed. There have been no arrests, but numerous restraining orders were imposed in order to prevent intrusion into the forest for a smooth running of the destruction of the Hambach forest.
The cleared, massively widened and levelled forest roads allow the police now to patrol in the middle of the Hambach Forest, because their vehicles always can get anywhere. “Thus the refuge areas of the forest inhabitants are strongly reduced. Police and RWE have taken a significant step towards escalation, although they allegedly tried to de-escalate,“ says climate activist Heidi Berg.
All this after the grubbing season, which is limited in duration to protect the survival of some rare species in Hambach Forest and considering the Skill-Sharing Camp, which will take place in ten days (March 25 to April 3), and the annual Climate Camp in summer.
On March 14, Ralph Jansen reported in the Kölner Stadt Anzeiger, that obviously a call by RWE is sufficient and make police coming to provide assistance. Whereas the activists in the Hambach Forest rather a different way of dealing with the police are accustomed. Heidi Berg says: “Once again it became evident how close RWE and police are and who is holding the threads in this region”. Wir möchten keine ungehörten Forderungen an die Politik stellen, die für die Zerstörung des Hambacher Forstes mitverantwortlich ist, sondern uns diesen lebensfeindlichen und zerstörerischen Technologien im Hambacher Forst und überall sonst, in den Weg stellen und für ein solidarisches, friedliches, gleichberechtigtes Leben aller Lebensformen kämpfen und Räume dafür aufbauen.
Mehr Infos und aktueller Ticker: www.hambacherforst.blogsport.de