BY Vivian Chime
Greta Thunberg, a climate activist, has been arrested alongside other activists for protesting against coal mine expansion in Lützerath, a village in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.
According to Reuters, Thunberg was held on Tuesday while protesting at the opencast coal mine of Garzweiler II, 9km (5.6 miles) from Lützerath.
She was reported to have sat with a group of protesters near the edge of the mine.
The village of Lützerath, sits on the edge of an open-cast lignite coal mine and yields about 25 million tonnes of lignite — the dirtiest form of coal.
The mine spreads across around 14 square miles (35 square kilometers) in North Rhine Westphalia (NRW).
Despite the mine creeping outwards and covering buildings, RWE, Germany’s biggest power company, plans to expand the mine.
The proposed expansion sparked series of protests from residents and climate activists who occupied the village and surrounded farmlands to stop the coal mine from being built.
Subsequently, Lützerath, which falls within the expansion area, began experiencing forced eviction from the police.
While marching with up to 6000 protesters, the Swedish climate activist called the coal mine expansion a “betrayal of present and future generations.”
“Germany is one of the biggest polluters in the world and needs to be held accountable,” she added.
However, the police say the arrested demonstrators will be released after their identities have been confirmed.
“Greta Thunberg was part of a group of activists who rushed towards the ledge. However, she was then stopped and carried by us with this group out of the immediate danger area to establish their identity,” a spokesperson for regional police in Aachen said.
He added that “there is no reason to hold them for days. It might take hours or they will go immediately”.
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