German police end operation to clear occupied Hambach Forest

BERLIN: German police have ended a widely-publicised operation to clear the occupied Hambach forest in North Rhine-Westphalia on Monday, reported Xinhua.
"We have withdrawn entirely," a spokesperson for the Aachen police told press. The announcement marked the conclusion of one of the largest ever police operations in the western state of Germany which witnessed the removal of 86 treehouses built earlier by activists to prevent the forest's looming felling.
The treehouse settlement in question has become a well-known symbol for resistance against coal power generation and deforestation across Europe.
The Hambach forest forms part of a property owned by German energy giant RWE which comprises the world's largest open pit brown coal mine. The Essen-based company plans to begin cutting down a further 100ha out of 200ha of remaining woodland shortly.
Although RWE has already obtained government approval to use the Hambach site for its mining activities, it has been confronted with long-standing protests from local residents and environmental activists.
Up to 50,000 individuals from across Germany and beyond participated in a demonstration on Sunday to protest the destruction of a forest which they affectionately nicknamed "Hambi."
Shortly before the march on Sunday took place, the dispute over the future of the "Hambi" took a surprising turn when the Muenster Higher Administrative Court approved an emergency appeal filed by the Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND) environmental group to temporarily halt its scheduled felling.
BUND was able to convince the judges that the presence of an endangered species of bats in Hambach meant that the area fulfilled the criteria of a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in the European Union (EU).
Due to a resulting risk of "irreversible damage" to local biodiversity, the court ruled that the case required further judicial and environmental scrutiny before being able to proceed with the felling.
In response to the development, Herbert Reul (CDU), interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia decided to remove security forces from the area over the weekend. "I think the time has come for calm, peace and order to return to the forest," Reul said.
At the same time, Reul appealed to activist not to begin re-erecting treehouse and barricades. German media reported on Monday that construction of makeshift dwellings has begun again in Hambach by around 100 activists who have returned to the only-briefly cleared area.
According to a spokesperson for the Aachen police, security forces will continue to monitor the situation closely and assess the possibility of further clearance operations. Such a mission would have to be initiated by affected municipal governments requesting police assistance in removing the new treehouses.
An opinion survey has recently found that 79% of people polled in North Rhine-Westphalia, including 71% of CDU supporters, are in favour of preserving the Hambach forest.
Nevertheless, governor Armin Laschet (CDU) has told the public broadcaster "WDR" that his government would not tolerate "any abuse of the law" and could not "orient its policies exclusively towards surveys." — Bernama