redaktion's blog

Information about personal responsibilities and health risks for “Ende Gelände”

redaktion — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 23:17:47 +0000

TAKE GOOD CARE! - OF YOURSELVES AND EACH OTHER!

Great that we are in this together! Coal is a massive threat to the health and lives of people, both globally and here locally.
That's why "Ende Gelände" is "the place to be" right now.
This threat, however, is present even when just protesting against coal mining - and "Ende Gelände" is no exception.

The safety and physical integrity of all have absolute priority at "Ende Gelände". Please mind, we are a large group of people, who differ in all sorts of aspects: we are a mix of young and old; experienced and first-time activists; some of us are more physically able than others or have health issues. We want to start off together, and then enjoy an array of good, colourful and lively protests.
To this purpose, we have jointly been working out our non-escalative consensus over months and will be preparing ourselves in training sessions. Within this consensus, there are different levels of participation, all of which are important and good.
We will be taking good care of both ourselves and our affinitygroups (the smaller group of somewhere betwen 4-8 people you choose to buddy with as part of the wider collective action), making responsible decisions within our spokescouncil meetings (where a representative from each affinity group gathers).
The slowest ones among us will set the pace, so we will be strong and colourful in making an irresistibly different stand against the destruction characterised mainly by capitalistic white men.

Introducing.... Antje

redaktion — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 22:04:16 +0000

Introducing... Fania

redaktion — Thu, 06 Aug 2015 17:08:25 +0000

Support for Ende Gelände from celebrities

redaktion — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 16:00:00 +0000

Ende Gelände will be one of the largest action of the European climate movement this year. Not just we like that but also Naomi Klein, Bill McKibben, Nico Paech and Friederike Habermann.

Naomi Klein, author of the climate movement manifest "This changes everything"

"Germany's rapid energy transition has been driven by the people, a victory that now serves as a model to the rest of the world. But as long as the German political class insists on using massive machinery to tear up the earth, producing the continent's single largest source of carbon emissions, that transition will remain woefully incomplete. These coalfields pose an existential threat to humanity, which is why our movements need to step in once again and shut them down. This August, there is no more important place to be."

Bill McKibben, Klimaaktivist und Gründer von 350.org

"I'm so glad to see people drawing a firm line in the coalfields, and stopping the planet's largest coal-digging machines. We're driven not by ideology but by physics: there's simply no way to burn all this lignite and keep the climate intact. These protesters are lifeguards for an endangered planet."

Friederike Habermann, economist and activist of the anti-globalization movements for many years

„Ich finde 'Ende Gelände' gut, denn anders als die G7 wissen sie, dass Worten Taten folgen sollten.“

„Ende Gelände“ conntects the presentation of constructive ideas for a future without growth and coal with political actions against the scandalous immediately to overcome coal production in a perfect way

Legal Matters

redaktion — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 13:26:47 +0000

You are taking part in the Ende Gelände action. What legal consequences can you expect?

Repression (by the state, police or private companies) is meant to be unpredictable. Nonetheless, we already have some experience with it and can assess some reactions in advance. However, there are no guarantees. One thing is sure either way: together we are building structures of solidarity to support those hit by the impacts of repression – you will not be left alone! There will always be a contact person in charge of legal matters at the camp. We will also offer workshops on this issue. It is impossible to cover everything in advance, so do join the camp. On location we will discuss open questions together. On top of that, we are preparing a detailed leaflet presenting many different options for action and putting things into context for you.

If after the action you are confronted with legal repercussions, get in touch with your affinity group and, if you like, with the person in charge of legal aid at the camp. Together we will find a way to handle the repression and use it to strengthen our movement rather than letting it weaken us! We would like to explicitly alert you to the fact that the ranges of criminal penalties outlined are not set in stone. They provide guidance for all people whom they may concern. It is possible to formally object against court orders; to go to court with the help of lawyers or lay defense counsels (to be defended by someone who is not a legally trained lawyer, by another citizen). We can use the judicial accusations politically and make the absurdity of criminalizing climate activists public. And we can defend ourselves against it – that is, if you want that, too!

From Monday, the 3rd of August 2015 on, you can always reach someone from the legal support team under the following number:
Legal Team: +49 (0)157 82 86 82 73
You can also contact us via this e-mail-address: antirrr@riseup.net

More information about legal questions and practical information
can be found on this link to the legal team.

1. Criminal Law

The following criminal offences are particularly relevant:

Trespass/unlawful entry: If you enter a building or a private ground (e.g. the opencast mine) “illegally”. If the object is fenced or if there are signs indicating that entry is illegal or if it assumed that you know that the “owner” would not permit entry, then this already applies when entering the building or land. If not, it only comes into effect once you stay on after being requested by the owner (in our case, the RWE group) to leave.
Penalty range: 10 – 30 daily rates*.
Resistance against enforcement officers: This only applies in the case of direct contact with the police – an active (!) act against police officers, a movement of your body directed against the officer. Note: fleeing, passively lingering and disobedience do not constitute resistance!
Penalty range: 30 – 50 daily rates
Coercion: If your action forces another person to undertake or refrain from taking a certain action.. Sit-down protests in front of coal diggers are not usually regarded as coercion. However, chaining yourself to an object or setting up a material blockade may be prosecuted.
Penalty range: 20 daily rates

These charges are rarely prosecuted in the context of mass actions such as Ende Gelände! In many cases, active anti-repression work can achieve a termination of the proceeding.

*A daily rate denotes a fine corresponding to your income (1 daily rate = what you earn in one day (means-tested fine)). Alternatively, these days can be served in prison. The penalty ranges provided here are values taken from similar actions in previous years.

2. Civil Law

Claim for damages: In the run-up to and during the action, RWE and the police will probably try to threaten us with damage claims of a considerable degree. We approach this threat calmly and will not let it irritate or divert us, because we know: we are a diverse alliance capable of making a scandal about such demands publicly. The more people participate in the action and in the protests in the area, the less likely it is – speaking from experience – that our enemies will put their threat into practice after the action. The threat is almost always a lot more frightening than the actual demand later on. And, additionally, this demand is almost always higher than what would legally be permissible. If in the end, a reduced sum for damages is demanded, we will not leave anyone out in the cold.

So even if RWE later claims damages from many of us or from individuals, we are in a good place: we are many, we are united and we can fight well – on a political and judicial level, and using the media.

I'll be part of it because...

redaktion — Thu, 02 Jul 2015 08:17:37 +0000

On this page, you can anonymously or pseudonymously explain to the public (!) why you will be part of Ende Gelände! in August.

Attention:

Everything you write here will appear on this website!
Please do not use your real name but instead a pseudonym! Or you leave the name field blank.
Take the time to carefully think through which information you want to give hear. Take care that the information does not identify you in real life. We want you at the action, we definitely dont't want you to experience any problems in the time before the action!
Your comment will appear on this side only after manual review by the editors. Please be patient with us :)

Now, that you have carefully thought through everything and have decided to act responsibly in respect to yourself, we are happy to hear why you come to the Rhineland in August in order to stop an excavator with us:

Networked in Europe

redaktion — Sun, 10 May 2015 13:51:58 +0000

"Ende Gelände - Leave it in the Ground" is a direct action in the context of the European and global grassroots movement for climate justice. This year, everywhere on this planet people show that effective climate protection comes from below, from the grassroots. We do not put our hopes in COP 21 and international climate agreements anymore: we have learned those efforts are more or less focused on how to earn money with the global warming issue. Be it actions in the context of Carbon Trade Schemes, be it CCS (Carbon Capture & Storage), Geo-Engineering or the electrification of current unsustainable levels of idividual transportation, it is always about making profit with questionable methods of climate protection, which are often linked to more environmental destruction, eviction, land grabbing and worldwide injustice and repression.

The grassroot movement denounces all those wrong solutions. We do not only target governments, but also the Corporate Conquistadors and the Corporate Criminals of this world.

On 22-24 May 2015 in Paris, groups of the European grassroot climate movement will meet again for one weekend in order to coordinate actions, develope common narratives and encourage each other. If you want to join the meeting, please contact copandbeyond@riseup.net.