BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - Green Party federal chairwoman Ricarda Lang has again defended her party's line on clearing the village of Lützerath for lignite mining. "This was not an easy compromise for me personally, I think for many in my party," she said Monday on ARD's "Morgenmagazin." But she added that it was a sign of strength not to make things easy for oneself as a party.

Police have been clearing Lützerath, occupied by climate activists, since Wednesday to allow RWE to demolish it and dredge the coal underneath. Leading Green politicians such as German Economy Minister Robert Habeck and his North Rhine-Westphalia counterpart Mona Neubaur are backing the decision. They say the coal is needed to maintain energy security. The demolition of Lützerath, they say, is part of a compromise that, on the other hand, provides for an exit from coal that is brought forward by eight years. Parts of the Green Party and numerous climate activists, on the other hand, criticize the negotiated compromise./xil/DP/jha