Environment – Frankfurt am Main – protest camp cleared in the Fechenheimer forest – knowledge

Frankfurt / Main (dpa / lhe) – According to the police, the clearing of the Fechenheimer forest in the east of Frankfurt has been completed. Most recently, seven environmental activists were in the forest area on Friday. Some were taken from tree houses by the police and led out of the forest. No one was injured, said a police spokesman. Numerous police officers, including special forces from the high-altitude team, had been on duty since dawn on Friday. According to the Interior Ministry, a total of 22 activists were taken out of the tree houses.

While the core zone of the occupied forest was still being cleared, bulldozers were already in use on the edge. The sound of chainsaws could also be heard again and again. Cries from environmentalists rang out outside the construction fence that was pulled on Wednesday. “You are not alone!” they shouted whenever another activist was brought out of one of the remaining tree houses. With “Go away!” they turned to the police and construction workers.

The procedure already had a certain routine on the third day of the evacuation operation: first the loudspeaker announcement of a police officer, who addressed the residents of the tree house to be evacuated in a factual and quite friendly manner, discussed the legal situation and immediately issued a eviction. Then the deployment of the high-altitude team, which was raised in a special vehicle at the height of the tree house.

When clearing the first tree house, the officials climbed up with ladders. On Thursday, on the other hand, the special forces were lifted over the treetops with a crane boom and from there roped down hanging on a steel cable at the level of the tree squatters, which were around 40 meters high.

Branches that impeded progress were sawed off and ropes were used to secure them. Then, one by one, the residents were taken downstairs, along with their valuables. After the third icy night in a row without the warming fire of the already leveled camp kitchen, the remaining activists must have been completely frozen. One was already packing his backpack next to him when the police announcement sounded. Another walked stiff-legged, accompanied by two police officers, and a third squatter voluntarily abseiled.

“I think they’ll be a bit happy that it’s over now,” said a police officer. In conversations with officials, respect for the goals of the climate activists was heard again and again. “Fighting for every tree, especially in view of the consequences of climate change – I think that’s a good thing,” said a police officer. But the courts had set the legal situation – and the police had to enforce it.

There was relief that it remained peaceful and that the operation was reportedly without injuries. Since Wednesday, the police had pushed ahead with the clearing of the forest with a large-scale operation. The area is to be cleared in order to connect the A66, which previously ended right next to it, to the A661.

The supporters of the climate activists were disappointed. “Goosebumps” she had during the eviction, said a woman. “That’s really taking me away.” “Don’t hurt me” and “I want to live” was still painted on some of the trees in the cleared zone on Friday. 50 meters further there was no longer any sign of trees or undergrowth: preparations for the expansion have already begun here. And the police operation does not end with the evacuation. “We will continue to secure the felling of the trees,” said a police spokeswoman.

The Hessian Prime Minister Boris Rhein and Minister of the Interior Peter Beuth (both CDU) thanked the police on Friday afternoon for the “careful” operation in the Fechenheim forest. The police were “communicative, transparent and highly professional and always cautious, even at dizzying heights,” said Rhein. “The demonstrators also behaved mostly peacefully.”

“The successful completion of the clearing work shows that the police were able to master this major challenge with a clever, clear and prudent operational concept,” said Beuth about the operation, in which up to 1,800 officers took part every day.

The Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) welcomed the start of construction in the east of Frankfurt. “The road networks in Frankfurt-Rhein-Main and the city of Frankfurt am Main are notoriously congested, especially at peak times. This is counterproductive in terms of sustainability goals, because stop-and-go traffic causes unnecessary emissions, which is also not in the sense of the economy,” said Chamber President Ulrich Caspar.

© dpa-infocom, dpa:230120-99-290238/6