Because 15 hectares of forest are to fall victim to a road, environmentalists built a protest camp in a Berlin park and erected tree houses there. Now the police have cleared the camp.
A tree house protest camp by environmentalists has been cleared by the police in Berlin’s Wuhlheide Park. Several people were taken out of the five mostly small tree houses by police officers with climbing equipment, the police said. About 40 people left the protest camp, which also included around 20 tents on the ground, according to the police, voluntarily.
The police dismantled the tree houses. Forest management employees cleared away the remains of the camp on the ground. A total of 400 police officers were deployed.
Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) said the police had carefully considered the decision and made it with care. “In Berlin there are laws and rules that everyone has to abide by.”
The tree squatters, who described themselves as queer feminist activists, said they wanted to prevent about 15 hectares of forest from being cleared to build a road. They had occupied the trees since Saturday.
Several hours of police action
The police operation began early Wednesday morning and dragged on for many hours due to the difficult conditions and climbing. The police repeatedly asked people to leave the forest with loudspeaker announcements. At the same time, the officers worked their way through the forest.
At least 14 squatters received evictions and charges of violating the Demonstration Law. “Together with our high-altitude climbers, the emergency services bring people down one by one and remove the tree houses piece by piece.” A police helicopter later circled over the forest in search of people attempting to re-enter the site.
Berlin’s Senator for the Interior, Iris Spranger (SPD), emphasized: “What we see there differs to a large extent from the peaceful character of a gathering. The protest camp, with its barricades and the excavations, which are almost reminiscent of pitfalls, and the dangers that arise from them longer-term resistance.”
The police also justified the eviction with the considerable violation of the rights of third parties by the camp. This means, for example, the endangerment of bystanders due to blocked access roads, obstacles and holes in the forest floor, said a police spokeswoman. The people in the protest camp had not shown any willingness to cooperate in the past few days.
The squatters feel they have been treated unfairly
A squatter, who wished to remain anonymous, told the German Press Agency during the eviction that the group felt they had been treated unfairly. “That is not appropriate.” They had made an urgent entry to the court through a lawyer against the order of the police, which had not been awaited. It is incomprehensible that the eviction had begun before then. It must be possible to comply with the requirements, the group wanted that, according to the activist. It was not possible to communicate with the police about this.
The police announced in the afternoon that the urgent application against the ban on assembly had no suspensive effect, so that the measures were continued. “In the meantime, the administrative court has rejected the application.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
