BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – The German Police Union (DPolG) has demanded an unequivocal commitment from the Green Party for the police operation in Lützerath, North Rhine-Westphalia. “It cannot be that senior party officials and members of parliament call for resistance and protests in Lützerath,” federal chairman Rainer Wendt said on Friday. “The Greens have to decide if they want to be government or opposition.” He also said that it was scandalous to equate the criminal activity in Lützerath with the legitimate use of direct coercion by the police.
The village of Lützerath is to be demolished so that the energy company RWE can mine the coal below. This is urgently needed to maintain energy security, say RWE and the North Rhine-Westphalian state government. Activists deny this, citing studies, and occupy the village buildings. The police have been cleaning the village since Wednesday./xil/DP/jha
