“In NRW, everyone is allowed to demonstrate, including Mrs. Thunberg, who comes from far,” Reul told the newspaper “Bild” on Friday. “I hope she makes sure her fellow campaigners stay peaceful and play by the rules.”
The Swedish activist had announced her visit to Lützerath in short message Twitter on Saturday to defend the former village against the threat of excavation of the coal beneath it. After the eviction of the settlement against activist resistance had already started on Wednesday, the police continued their action on Friday.
Thousands of protesters expected
Against the background of the sometimes violent protests against the police, the CSU criticized Thunberg’s arrival. Stefan Müller, parliamentary director of the CSU state group in the Bundestag, pointed out that the activist drove to Lützerath, although police officers there were attacked with stones and fireworks. “With her visit, Thunberg knowingly makes common ground with these criminals,” he told “Bild”.
In Kreyenberg in the Rhineland, which, like neighboring Lützerath, belongs to the city of Erkelenz, a broad protest alliance expects more than ten thousand demonstrators on Saturday. The initiatives All Villages Remain, Fridays for Future and BUND, among others, are participating.
(AFP)