Evacuation of the occupied construction site is imminent so that the fields of Hirschstetten can be sealed. At the same time, Wiener Linien is closing bus lines to prevent people from expressing solidarity
Vienna Donaustadt, on 5.4.- Numerous police officers have just been encircling the construction site occupation that has existed for seven months against the planned city motorway at Hirschstettnerstraße 44. Numerous people who do not want to voluntarily leave the place of peaceful protest to the excavators and bulldozers are to be taken out of their huts and tents shortly.
Mayor Ludwig wants to create facts with the construction of the city motorway in order to enforce the Lobau tunnel after all. In times of fossil fuel war and climate crisis, this would be a fatal step in the wrong direction.
"It's unbelievable: the climate crisis is progressing, forests are burning in the Alps and the number of people who do not have enough food is rising rapidly. The war in Ukraine clearly shows us the terrible consequences of dependence on fossil fuels for peace and stability. Instead of a determined phase-out of fossil energy, which science has long been calling for, our politicians want to continue building motorways and sealing valuable agricultural land. It is as clear as rarely that we now need a courageous transport and energy transition instead of climate-damaging projects from the last century. Every step counts – finally cancel the city highway, Mr. Mayor!", says Lucia Steinwender, spokeswoman for LobauBleibt.
"This occupation was far more than just a resistance to the city highway, but also raised the question of fair space distribution in the city. Occupations are always places for alternative ways of life that lie outside the capitalist logic. Do we make room for highways or for culture, gardening together, discussing and coming together? Space for the car lobby or for people? With this eviction, the city of Vienna is once again showing which side it is taking on this question," says Julia, who inhabited and helped shape the site of the protest.
A total of several hundred people have defied wind and weather for months and endured despite an arson attack on the construction site. In February, the occupation in Hausfeldstraße was cleared, now the one in Hirschstettner Straße is to give way to the planned motorway.
But LobauBleibt is combative: "We will come back. First [gestern] , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned in a recent report that we must act now to prevent the climate catastrophe – and that it is only a question of political will whether we can do it or not. As long as the Vienna city government has not understood this, we will stand in the way of their destructive concrete projects," says Anna Kontriner, spokeswoman for LobauBleibt, "The resistance against the city highway will continue."
At 7 p.m., a rally organized by Fridays For Future will take place in front of the SPÖ headquarters in Löwelstraße to take the protest against the eviction and the construction of the motorway to the center of the city.
Also announced are protests at the state party congress of the SPÖ Vienna on 28 May "On 28 May we will send a strong signal against the fossil fuel policy of the city of Vienna, which is destroying our livelihoods," Concludes Lucia Steinwender.
Contact & Queries:
Anna Kontriner (Extinction Rebellion)
presse@xrebellion.at
+43677 64123091
Lucia Steinwender (System Change, not Climate Change)
presse@systemchange-not-climatechange.at
+436506352324
Photos of the eviction for editorial use when attributed on Flickr: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzHDft