Ottendorf-Okrilla (dpa/sn) – The police continued to clear the occupied protest camp in a wooded area north of Dresden on Thursday morning. Several climate activists climbed into treetops and chained themselves there, as a local dpa reporter reported on Thursday. A so-called height intervention team of the police tried to get to the activists with the help of a lifting platform in order to bring them down from the trees. The police want to remove more tree houses and tripods – raised platforms on three stilts – from the forest.
On Wednesday evening, the police said they discovered a woman who strapped herself into a tree after completing yesterday’s operation. After emergency services spoke to her, she came down voluntarily. The woman was sent off and released by police officers without further action. According to the police, most of the activists leave the camp voluntarily, with a few exceptions.
However, some activists were outraged by the communication and the behavior of the police: “Contrary to what the police claim, it is by no means possible to speak of ‘peaceful’ or ‘communicative’,” they said. The group was shocked and angry.
The clearing of the forest, which is called Heibo in local parlance, began on Wednesday. The company KBO in Ottendorf-Okrilla wants to continue quarrying gravel in the region and has the license to do so.
