The dispute over the Hambacher Forst apparently becomes personal. In the morning, the Industrial Union of Mining, Chemicals and Energy (IGBCE) called for a demonstration in the village of Buir, which borders on the lignite mine Hambach.
Among the protesters were many employees of the energy company RWE, which announced a job cuts last week due to the clearing in the Hambach forest. Around 100 people took part in the demonstration, while the protest march stopped in front of the private lodge of lignite critic Antje Grothus in the morning.
Grothus, 54, is co-founder of the citizens' initiative "Buirer for Buir", which works to preserve the Hambach forest. In addition, she is a member of the Commission, which is currently exploring a schedule for the coal withdrawal on behalf of the Federal Government.
Protesters are said to have knocked on windows
At half past ten o'clock, the protesters stopped at their door, Grothus says. They chanted "Grothus out" and "Hambi weg" and made noise with drums and whistles. "I felt threatened," says Grothus, "people have taken pictures of my house, of the license plate of our car, that's overblown, this aggressiveness is incredible."
Participants in the demonstration should have knocked on a window, after about 15 minutes, the protest has set in motion again. "I can understand the fears of the employees," says Grothus, "but it must not be that we are played against each other, that I am made the target, the workplace enemy number one."
According to the police Aachen have confirmed to the IGBCE "only a vigil and a stand demonstration" on the outskirts - and no demonstration that sets in motion. "This may have been a departure from the right of assembly," says a spokesman.
Union is surprised
The police in the Rhein-Erft-Kreis, who was in charge of the operations management, said that the march into the village had been a "spontaneous lift" that had "stopped just outside the house of Grothus for a brief moment". It was come to "no recognizable offenses". But a spokeswoman also states that there is reason to "work up the case".
The union is obviously surprised by the behavior of its members. Demonstrations in front of private homes are considered "wrong," says a spokesman. "In spite of all the job worries, protest has to stay reasonable."
Grothus says she is now considering personal protection. Regarding her work as a member of the so-called coal commission, she sees the government in Berlin as having the duty: "The competent federal ministries should ensure that we Commissioners can do our work without being threatened."