Protest against Tesla car factory
Tough standoff – police break up Tesla protest camp
Since the end of February, Tesla opponents have been occupying a forest near Elon Musk’s car factory near Berlin. Now the police are breaking up the protest camp – but it’s a tough undertaking because of activists in the trees.
For almost nine months, environmental activists have occupied a forest in Grünheide near Berlin – in protest against Elon Musk’s only European Tesla car factory. The 20 tree houses in the camp have become a symbol of resistance against the US electric car manufacturer. Now it has to end.
The police broke up the meeting of Tesla opponents at 10:17 a.m., citing violations of public safety and order as the main reason. The expanded tree houses will also disappear later – when and how was still unclear because of possible dangerous explosives in the ground.
In any case, the opponents do not want to stop with their protest against the Tesla factory, which is considered a flagship project of the state government because of the short approval and construction time. “It must finally be an end to the fact that Tesla’s profits are enforced by politicians at all costs and that is why we continue to protest,” said Karolina Drzewo from “Turn off the tap from Tesla”.
Tesla opponents did not want to leave the area for explosive ordnance inspection
Investigations are underway in the forest near the Tesla factory because of the suspicion that old weapons are lying in the ground. But the environmental activists did not want to leave their camp since Monday morning for the so-called explorations in the area.
Some climbed higher and higher on the pine trees in cold temperatures and rain. In their tree houses they were equipped with, among other things, sleeping bags. Police specialists, secured with ropes, pulled some of the masked activists out of the trees.
The difficult operation of the high-altitude rescuers dragged on for many hours since the morning. At around 3:00 p.m. not everyone was down from the trees – it literally turned into a hanging game.
Police operation without violent scuffles
The activists – a small, manageable group – repeatedly chanted to each other: “You are not alone.” The operation went quietly, even if Tesla opponents criticized the evacuation of the camp as disproportionate. There were some temporary detentions.
“We are angry,” said a spokeswoman for “Stop Tesla” about the evacuation of the camp. The group wants to oppose the planned expansion of the Tesla site for a freight station and storage areas and prevent the clearing of trees. They are also concerned about the resource of water.
The police argued: “The repeated commission of crimes also made it clear that the meeting was aimed at preventing further probes.” The municipality of Grünheide had initiated an investigation into an area in which part of the protest camp was located because of suspected explosive weapons.
Months ago, two World War II bombs were discovered and defused in connection with investigations on the planned expansion area of the Tesla site. For its projects, the company, which is feeling the effects of slowed growth in the electric car market, first has to buy a piece of forest from the state of Brandenburg. Discussions about this are still ongoing, according to the Environment and Forestry Ministry in Potsdam.
Dissolution of the Tesla protest camp meets with approval in the state parliament
The dissolution of the camp was met with support from politicians in the Brandenburg state parliament. “It is also not a lawless area; the police have to enforce law and order here,” said SPD parliamentary group leader Daniel Keller in Potsdam. “Whether the protest will be continued at that location afterwards will have to be clarified in the future.” Brandenburg’s CDU state parliamentary group leader Jan Redmann said: “The protesters have left the path of cooperation.” In any case, Tesla opponents announced a “walk in the forest” on Saturday in Grünheide shortly after the decision to evict.
Not comparable to the evacuation years ago in the Hambacher Forest
The police operation in Grünheide cannot be compared with images like those seen from the Hambacher Forest in North Rhine-Westphalia in 2018. The threatened destruction of the forest mobilized great resistance at the time – it was about the mining of brown coal. The police responded in a large-scale operation with water cannons and other heavy equipment. It took her weeks to dismantle treehouses and dismantle the activists’ camp. A man fell from a great height from a suspension bridge during the evacuation and died.
dpa
Source: Stern
