politician
Police violence, especially psychological violence, has been part of the Rhineland’s struggle with coal.
For decades, RWE has relied on direct and less obvious violence by police and security forces to suppress resistance, embedded in Scope of counterinsurgency strategy.
From beatings to intimidation, rape threats and the use of pressure points, outright lies and misinformation – the company has always been able to count on the support of the power of the state – police and politicians.
The head of the Rhine police force has long been a paid member of the RWE advisory board, and politicians at all levels have The company’s high-paying sideline.
activist
Their public relations and corporate social responsibility work, including nature restoration work, and regional media support have fostered an image of good neighbors and “responsible corporate citizens” among large segments of the public.
The police has been cooperating with RWE on the ground for a long time, Forward RWE News, using RWE vehicles to transport protesters and outsourcing the most difficult tunnel evictions to RWE’s private fire brigade.
Not only is the company deeply embedded in the German political landscape, but it has also managed to create dependencies and revolving door relationships through payments to politicians. A quarter of its shares are owned by Rhineland towns, making them dependent on RWE’s financial success.
However, RWE’s image has long been faltering, thanks to the work of activists and land defenders who physically block the way and attack the company in various ways.
Lessons Learned: Solidarity and Meaningful Alliances That Matter
What is inspiring and surprising about the Lützerath resistance is not whether Greta Thunberg comes to give a speech, joins a sit-in blockade, or is taken away by the police.
Or indeed, whether 35,000 or 50,000 people took part in the demonstrations called for by the coalition of groups, although that may be unthinkable in the UK context.
Even more amazing is the fact that people have been fighting back for years, risking their lives, building communities, and spending time in prisons, treehouses, and underground to stop RWE.
Living the future they want to see, despite attempts by the police, media and politicians to divide and conquer, labeling them as eco-terrorists and eco-extremists, and demanding that communities distance themselves from more radical “elements” resistance together. unsuccessful.
The resistance in Lützerath is very diverse – we see eco-anarchists and liberal environmentalists, Fridays for Future Kids and church groups.
There is no such thing as a “climate movement”. Despite wide differences in political views and ideologies, despite political pressures, conflicts and tensions, the past week has not seen the “distancing” of activism and forms of protest, as often happens.
Unlike earlier anti-coal protests in Germany, this one did not condemn or call for “non-violence” or “peaceful protest”. People have embraced a variety of strategies rather than having the state and RWE divide and conquer.
don’t trust the greens
The second lesson, which comes as no surprise to many of us, but is too painful for the mainstream environmental movement, is: “Whatever happens, don’t trust the German Greens”.
The political agreement allowing the eviction of Lützerath in exchange for “saving” five other villages and accelerating Germany’s coal phase-out from 2038 to 2030 was negotiated with RWE under a green coalition government.
Lützerath is not only sacrificing in the deal, but by increasing the amount of coal mined each year, the early phase-out results in the same amount of coal being burned and carbon emitted, only in a shorter period of time.
The German government will never take the necessary action to prevent climate catastrophe, it is up to us.
hit them where it hurts
As tougher policing laws are introduced in the UK and elsewhere, we need to rethink how we act and protest – not play by their rules.
In and around Lützerath we have seen sit blockades, digger occupation, tree sits and people glued to buildings and tree houses. But we’ve also seen nonviolent vandalism, nighttime operations, burning of infrastructure, and other irresponsible behavior.
Germany’s draconian new policing and assembly laws did not deter operations but made them more creative, building on longstanding combat operations.
There is a lot to learn from them, from our own past experiences of taking direct action in the UK, from road protests to the anti-GMO fight. And centuries of stubborn resistance by Indigenous and land communities around the world!
Instead of focusing on the spectacle and media attention, what works is shutting down the machines, costing the company money and making daily operations more difficult.
Just like the police will never actually obey the law when dealing with protests — like we will never actually hold the police accountable, why would we?
don’t be obsessed with their narrative
We too often engage in the national narrative, continually answering the same questions about energy security, violence, and alternatives, rather than coming up with our own stories and narratives.
We end up talking about carbon emissions, not power and liberation. We listen to professional activists, not the community.
It’s no coincidence that we’re currently seeing crackdowns on alternative media and anarchist publishing groups – via Assault is 325.nostate arrive raid on drakeland radio station Just two days ago. Our stories are powerful.
Let’s avoid self-regulation and censorship, the obsession with consensus and protocols of action, and celebrate autonomy and radical solidarity, mutual aid, and support.
Of course, this doesn’t mean downplaying our politics, or pretending it’s “beyond politics,” but bringing together anti-coal, anti-police, anti-border, anti-colonial, and anti-state struggles.
Let’s fight back against being classified as activists, divided by identity, and push for total collective liberation.
To abolish and liberate politics
Black radical thinkers have long banded together to resist Prisons, Police and Pollutionwhile our friends in the US have Fight Toxic Prisons for many years.
Police brutality in and around Lützerath should serve as a reminder Policing is integral to extractivism and ecological hazards it leads to, and to execute ecocide.
We need a culture of resistance, not activism, where people live, love, and breathe resistance without falling into the activism category entirely.
Destructive and hilarious: “If I can’t dance with it, it’s not my revolution”, Emma Goldman said long ago. As the banner says, “Love, Live, Resist”.
the struggle continues
According to the police, the deportation of Lützerath is over, but the fighting is not over. It’s a fight against coal, police and fossil capital, against fake green solutions, and for a different life.
Over the past few days, there have been multiple actions against RWE and solidarity actions around the world, including burning Amazon vehicles in solidarity with imprisoned land defenders, locking down German embassies, and more.
People have shown they won’t let RWE go unpunished – blocking coal train tracks, excavators and infrastructure, occupying offices and roads and vandalizing machinery.
As police continue to protect fossil capital and ramp up ecological destruction, people continue to fight. For a world of difference.
the author
Dr Andrea Brock is Lecturer in International Relations at the Center for Global Political Economy, University of Sussex, UK.
