Innsbruck, December 17, 1984
Almost a State Crisis
The construction of a hydroelectric power plant on the Danube near Hainburg in Lower Austria east of Vienna has almost provoked a state crisis. About 5,000 demonstrators occupied the Stopfenreuther Au, a well-known nature preserve and Danube wetland, to prevent workers from clearing the area. To avoid being blamed for giving in to anarchy, the minister of the interior had no choice but to use force so that the clearing could proceed. He ordered the federal police and the local constabulary to dissolve the occupation by the environmentalists. His imploring admonition to use Prudence made the country listen. Most feared is the possibility that members of the ÖGB (Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund-Austrian Federation of Trade Unions) would go to Hainburg for a counter-demonstration, which could lead to violent clashes between workers and students.
Wednesday, December 19, in the evening
Exercising measured restraint, the feared counter-demonstration by the ÖGB did not occur. In turn, the government decided to dissolve the occupation of the Stopfenreuther Au. Early this morning, units of the police and the constabulary closed off the area and opened the road for the clearing crew to move in. There were a few scuffles between the security forces and the environmentalists. But the police action set 10,000 demonstrators in motion to march in protest on the Ringstrasse in Vienna. The question of environmental protection has become a critical issue. The preservation of the environment stirs up emotions and divides the public to an extent one could not have thought possible. Preservation of the environment could become an issue changing the political landscape in Austria and in other industrialized countries. A consensus has to be reached between commercial interests and the protection of the environment, or between economy and ecology.
Addendum
[At the beginning of 1985, the Austrian government halted the construction of the hydroelectric power plant in Hainburg indefinitely.]