Climate activist Greta Thunberg was detained twice by Dutch police on Saturday after she and a bunch of marchers blocked a principal street in The Hague to protest in opposition to fossil gas subsidies.
Earlier, Thunberg joined a whole lot of protesters on a stroll from The Hague’s metropolis centre to the close by A12 arterial freeway that connects the seat of the Dutch authorities with different cities together with Amsterdam, Rotterdam and Utrecht.
The march was organised by the Extinction Rebellion environmental group (XR) — who beforehand swarmed the freeway and blocked off site visitors for hours earlier than being sprayed by a police water canon and brought away.
On Saturday, dozens of law enforcement officials, together with some on horseback, blocked the group from accessing the motorway, warning that “violence could be used” ought to the marchers attempt to get onto the street.
Carrying XR flags and placards saying “Stop fuel subsidies now!” and “The planet is dying!”, chanting protesters have been then locked in a tense standoff with police who fashioned a wall of regulation enforcement.
Thunberg joined in with the chants and slogans throughout the protest.
“It’s important to demonstrate today because we are living in a state of planetary emergency,” Thunberg advised AFP as police blocked marchers.
“We must do everything to avoid that crisis and to save human lives,” she mentioned.
Some activists, nevertheless, discovered one other route and blocked a principal street near the freeway the place they — together with Thunberg — sat down on the tarmac.
Asked whether or not she was involved about police motion and arrest, Thunberg mentioned: “Why should I be?”
But shortly afterwards, Thunberg herself was arrested and dragged away by police to a ready touring bus the place she was detained with different activists.
She advised the ANP nationwide news company by phone that her arrest had proceeded “calmly”.
“It’s not about the arrest. I am here for the climate,” she mentioned.
A spokesman for the Public Prosecutor’s Office later confirmed the protesters have been briefly detained earlier than being launched at a distinct location.
Shortly afterwards, nevertheless, Thunberg and a few activists returned and have been arrested once more, this time for blocking a close-by site visitors intersection, and led away to a ready police van.
Prosecutor spokesman Vincent Veenman advised AFP that at present no fees have been laid in opposition to the activists.
“This however may change if people are arrested over and over again for the same offence,” Veenman mentioned.
Activists mentioned that regardless of majority backing by the Dutch parliament in addition to broad widespread help to slash fossil gas subsidies, “the plans will not be implemented before 2030, or even 2035”.
“Meanwhile the ecological crisis continues to rage and the country’s outgoing cabinet pretends that we have all the time in the world, while the crisis is now,” XR mentioned in an announcement posted on X, previously Twitter.
The protest, added XR, was a part of a plan to stress the Dutch authorities forward of one other deliberate debate about fossil subsidies in June.
Source: www.anews.com.tr