BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - The German Police Union (DPolG) has demanded an unequivocal commitment from the Green Party to the police operation in Lützerath, North Rhine-Westphalia. "It cannot be that high officials of the party and members of parliament call for resistance and protests in Lützerath," said federal chairman Rainer Wendt on Friday. "The Greens must decide whether they want to be government or opposition." He also said it was scandalous to equate criminal activity in Lützerath with the legitimate use of direct coercion by police.

The village of Lützerath is to be demolished so that the energy company RWE can excavate the coal underneath. This is urgently needed to maintain energy security, say RWE and the North Rhine-Westphalian state government. The activists deny this, citing studies, and occupy the village buildings. Police have been clearing the village since Wednesday./xil/DP/jha