In Germany for several days to support a demonstration against the extension of a coal mine, Greta Thunberg was arrested on Tuesday January 17 by the police. According to’AFPciting a police spokesperson, the young environmental activist was taken into custody with other protesters. Reuters announced that the Swede was released shortly after an identity check. However, images of his arrest posted on Twitter mainly leave room for accusations of “staging” of one “false arrest”.
Last Saturday, about 15,000 people from all over Germany joined the Rhineland, more precisely its hamlet Lützerath, in order to mobilize against the evacuation of the village and the extension of an open-pit coal mine, justified by the German government because of the energy crisis affecting the country. After several days of occupation by environmental activists, the village was evacuated Tuesday by the police, not without force and scuffles. Demonstrators were thus arrested.
Among those arrested was Greta Thunberg. The Swedish activist had traveled to Germany several days earlier to support opponents. On Tuesday, protesters proceeded to occupy railway tracks, blocking roads and buildings. According to Reutersa group of protesters who stood at the edge of the mine were warned by the police that they would be “evicted by force” if they did not leave the mine site.
Photographs thus showed the young activist, dressed in black, being carried by the police to be evacuated. L’AFPrelayed by several media, reported that Greta Thunberg, after being arrested, was placed in police custody for a few hours. “Once the control is over, we will decide the fate of these people”said a police source.
Laughs and a pose for a photo
Reuters, also quoting police officers, explained that the activist was kept with a group of demonstrators in a police bus before being released after an identity check. “We are going to use force to get you to the ID check, so please cooperate,” a police officer told the group standing at the mine site, Reuters reports.
However, videos circulating on social networks, Twitter in particular, showed Greta Thunberg, taken by bars, being photographed laughing with the police, before being escorted away. Since the broadcast of these images, the young activist has been accused by many personalities of having staged her arrest or of having participated in it.
Yes, the Greta Thunberg arrest was staged for the establishment media. pic.twitter.com/UYqVl5zodp
— Catch Up (@CatchUpNetwork) January 17, 2023
“Yes, Greta Thunberg’s arrest was staged for the establishment media,” writes the media Catch Up Network by streaming the video. “So it turns out Greta Thunberg’s arrest was as fake as the climate change cult she works for,” denounces on his side Charlie Kirka conservative American political activist.
However, the arrest of the young Swedish activist also aroused reactions among environmental activists. NASA climatologist Peter Kalmus “felicitated” of “Greta’s first arrest”, believing “that it is time for many more of us to stand up and risk being arrested for the sake of a livable planet. This will reverse the trend”. A meteorologist, Ryan Maueattempts, for its part, to relativize the “staging” of this arrest by trying to revive the debate on Germany’s energy policy. “Even though the scenes were staged, the arrest of Greta Thunberg is a global embarrassment for Germany”she believes.
Fracture between the Greens and their supporters
The decision of the German government, of which the Greens are a member of the coalition, to authorize the extension of this lignite mine, which belongs to the German energy group RWE, fractures, according to German media, the relationship between the party and its supporters . The extension of this mine, planned for several years, is nevertheless considered necessary for Germany’s energy security, which must compensate for the interruption of Russian gas deliveries. Activists believe that the current reserves of lignite are sufficient and denounce on the part of Germany a serious breach of its climate commitments.
The Swedish activist has also criticized the left-wing German government, accusing the Green Party of “get really embarrassed” with this project. “Disappointed is one way of saying it. I think it’s very bizarre to see the German government, including the Green Party, making deals and compromises with companies like RWE when they should instead be held responsible for all the damage and destruction they have caused”she said in a response to the government.
In an interview with the program The Anne Will on Sunday, she qualified Germany “from one of the most polluting countries in the world historically” and discussions between green politicians and RWE of “very hypocritical”.