Once again, activists passed the security guard in the Sterrebos on the site of the Limburg car manufacturer VDL Nedcar; according to action group Save the Sterrebos succeeded four newcomers there Saturday morning in a tree to occupy. Fifteen others were arrested. The counter of the number of tree-sitters – called ‘bats’ by the action group – now stands at eight.
On Saturday morning, a group of activists tried to reach the trees. Officers arrested fifteen of them because they feel entered Nedcar’s private property and did not show their identity cards. Possibly more new demonstrators have managed to entrench themselves in a tree. A spokesperson for Save the Sterrebos tells ANP news agency that it is dependent on reports from the forest and that there may already be a total of nine occupiers.
The activists are trying to prevent Nedcar from cutting down the ancient forest in Born in Limburg, partly because many bat species live there. They have been in the trees for that reason since last week. According to Nedcar, the felling of the forest is necessary, because the factory has to expand to bring in a new client; BMW production will stop next year and a potential American successor could only use the factory with an extra production line. Nearly 5,000 jobs are at stake, the automaker’s board of directors said.
Read more about the feud between Save the Sterrebos and Nedcar here: Sterrebos as a battleground for nature versus labour