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Press release 20 October 2018

Kerpen-Buir. The alliance Ende Gelände is planning a protest camp for next week with several thousand participants in the Rhineland lignite mining area. With a wide range of educational and cultural activities, the alliance is demonstrating its support for an immediate exit from coal and the long-term preservation of the Hambach forest. In addition, blockades of coal infrastructure and demonstration trains are planned.

There is still no agreement between the organizers and the police on the question of the camp area. Ende Gelände had registered areas of the Rurwiesen in Huchem-Stammeln. Alternative suitable areas would be in Ellen. The police suddenly rejected these proposals yesterday after weeks of negotiations and ordered that the camp should instead take place north of Jülich, about 30 kilometres from the Hambach forest.

Ende Gelände considers this remote area as completely unsuitable for the protest camp. According to the “Brokdorf judgement” of the Federal Constitutional Court the place of a demonstration has a high symbolic significance. Protest against the climate-damaging coal must therefore be located in the vicinity of the mining area, states Ende Gelände. “We will oppose the decision of the Police by filing a suit and enforcing our fundamental rights”, says Karolina Drzewo, press spokeswoman of Ende Gelände. Also the police ban of the huge demonstration on 6 October was toppled by the Administrative Court Aachen.

“We’ve been looking for land for six months now. RWE owns almost everything here and they exert enormous pressure on farmers not to make their land available. The police wants to obstruct our demonstrations, too. Protest must be possible where destruction takes place, even if RWE doesn’t like it,” says Selma Richter from Ende Gelände.

“We need a decision as soon as possible that will allow us to set up the camp. Because one thing is clear: Thousands of people will definitely camp here next week against coal – one way or another”, states Richter.

Contact:
presse@ende-gelaende.org

Karolina Drzewo: 0049 152 04560800
Selma Richter: 0049 157 87414171