Hundreds of climate activists blocked one of the main roads in The Hague, the administrative capital of the Netherlands, to protest against government subsidies for fossil fuels such as oil and gas. Extinction Rebellion activists marched onto the highway, despite warnings from the police. Dozens of protesters could be seen waving colored flags, while some held banners. A banner carried by the protesters stated that “17.5 billion euros of taxpayers’ money will go to fossil fuels.” Another read: ‘This is a dead end street,’ Dutch News reported.
Local police reportedly shooed protesters towards waiting buses after they disobeyed orders to leave the street. Hours after the demonstration began, it was unclear how many people had been detained. Police said many of the activists left voluntarily when told to do so by officers, the AP news agency reported. “Large numbers of participants “show what society thinks of fossil fuel subsidies and the intimidation and criminalization of nonviolent climate activism,” said Anne Kervers, spokeswoman for Extinction Rebellion.
Earlier this week, authorities arrested six Extinction Rebellion activists on suspicion of sedition related to calls to organize the protest. A judge on Friday upheld an order barring another activist from staying in the area for 90 days. However, Extinction Rebellion said they ignored the order and attended the protest. A lawyer for the group claimed the order was a way to “take away climate activists’ right to demonstrate.”
The arrests and the exclusion order have sparked anger among activists who argue that it infringes their right to peaceful agitation.
