By Carla Cosajay Catalan, Staff Writer | February 2, 2023
Photo courtesy of Associated Press Images
Greta Thunberg, a 20-year-old Swedish activist, is well known for protesting outside the Swedish Parliament. She is also known for her campaign that has inspired many around the globe to create their own strikes. She was arrested on Tuesday January 17, in Germany.
Thunberg was amongst a group of protesters who had breached through a police barrier, making their way to the edge of a coal pit. The police had become concerned with the mass of protesters that could possibly set the ground in motion which had softened during rainfall in past days. The police decided to take action by removing some and detaining others, one of course being Greta Thunberg.
When detained, Thunberg did not resist and was released later on during the day along with other protesters. This wasn’t the first time that she had been detained.
At the protest, Greta was the main speaker and joined thousands of protesters taking part in that weekend’s demonstrations against the destruction of the German village of Lützerath.
Over the past few years, protesters have occupied the abandoned homes of those who were evicted in order for the mine’s expansion to continue. Some activists have even been there for more than two years.
“It’s unfair (that) people are getting removed from their homes for a coal mine,” said Carson High School junior Asher Aris. “Me personally, if I was there, I would feel greatly offended [having to] move out of my home for something that won’t even help me proceed in life.”
“I think that they shouldn’t have evicted them from (the) village for coal,” said CHS junior Heather Bayliss.
More than 1,000 police officers are working on the eviction plan that will remove demonstrators from the village while wearing riot gear. Once the eviction plan has been completed, RWE, a company that owns the coal mine, plans to create a 1.5-kilometerperimeter fence to secure the village before it is destroyed.
As of now, most structures in the villages have already been cleared with excavating machines in full view. Although the buildings in the village have been cleared by the police, some protesters decided to huddle in holes that were dug in the ground and stay in treehouses.
With the idea of expanding the coal mine, many climate activists argue that the continuation of burning coal will increase plant warming emissions. Another reason activists protest the expansion of the mine is due to the fact that the type of coal being used, Lignite, is the most polluting fossil fuel.
Although the protest to end the expansion has been going on for the past few years, activists have vowed that they will continue to fight for the village of Lützerath.
Comments