The police have started to dismantle a blockade of climate activists on the Zuidas, the financial heart of Amsterdam. According to the police, some 150 demonstrators have cordoned off the intersection of Beethovenstraat and Gustav Mahlerlaan, despite a ban from the municipality.
The police has started to dismantle a blockade of climate activists on the Zuidas, the financial heart of Amsterdam. According to the police, some 150 demonstrators have cordoned off the intersection of Beethovenstraat and Gustav Mahlerlaan, despite a ban from the municipality.
Campaigners of Extinction Rebellion previously hung a banner with the text “This financial heart is not beating” on the facade of Amsterdam South station. According to a spokesperson for the action group, it concerns 250 participants. Some of them have glued to the ground. Others have chained themselves together from a distance.
The group demands a citizens’ council. A group of citizens selected on the basis of a draw could, together with experts, make proposals to combat climate change. The activists believe that the influence of companies on climate policy is too great.
In a live stream from AT5 you can see that agents take the activists to another location with regular buses from the GVB. The protesters are not arrested, but moved by order of the municipality, a spokesman for the municipality told NU.nl.
The municipality of Amsterdam allows demonstrations under certain conditions, but has prohibited blockades. The municipality had announced in advance that the police would intervene if the demonstrators did not comply with that ban or the corona measures.
First major climate protest since the start of the corona crisis
This is the first major climate protest since the start of the corona crisis. Extinction Rebellion has announced that it will be campaigning in Amsterdam from Friday to Monday. The group emphasizes that the protesters will keep their distance, wear face masks and take hand gel.
The group wants to organize several lectures and activities on Museumplein. Monday, a new “disruptive action” on the Zuidas is on the program.
‘Lobby out, citizens in’
Extinction Rebellion is campaigning worldwide. By peacefully breaking rules, the activists want to draw attention to the climate crisis.
The group wants to end the “influence of large companies on climate policy” by means of a citizens’ council. The activists hope that effective solutions to the climate crisis can be devised in this way.
In the aftermath of the protests of the ‘Yellow Vests’, French President Emmanuel Macron, among others, also organized a citizens’ meeting on climate policy. Last June, the French government adopted 146 of the 149 recommendations to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The climate activists have come up with ways to chain themselves together at five feet, for example by putting their hands in pipes. (Image: Pro Shots).
