On June 22, Saturday, hundreds of climate activists clashed with the police while they were trying to occupy an open pit coal mine in Garzweiler in the German State of North-Rhine Westphalia. The call for the protest was given by Ende Gelände (Gelände alliance) as part of their campaign to end Europe’s dependency on fossil fuels.
Common Dreams reported that a contingent of the climate activists, who had gathered in western city of Viersen as part of the “Fridays for Future” climate actions, proceeded to occupy the Garzweiler coal mine.
Ende Gelände is a platform of environmental movements calling for an immediate divestment from fossil fuels, and thereby larger systemic changes to the society and the economy.
Sina Reisch, spokeswoman of Ende Gelände, said in a statement, “This is not only about coal power. This is about changing a destructive system that is based on the quest for infinite economic growth and exploitation. We are fighting for a future in which people count more than profits.”
According to reports, Ende Gelände activists also organized a blockade of railway tracks leading to the coal-fired Neurath power station in Rhineland, as part of their campaign against fossil fuels.
