Dutch police detain hundreds at climate protest / Photo: © ANP/AFP
By AFP - Agence France Presse
Dutch police detain hundreds at climate protest
Dutch police on Saturday detained hundreds of climate activists and used two water cannons to break up a protest that blocked one of the city's main highways for several hours.
The protest by Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists followed several other similar protests last year against Dutch fossil fuel subsidies and highlighted the effects of climate change.
“Around 700 activists were detained after the A12 highway was blocked,” The Hague police told X.
“This led to traffic jams and longer travel times for ambulances and other emergency services,” it added.
Police maintained a heavy presence with foot and horse patrols, while a police drone flew over the site.
Hundreds of protesters gathered around midday and entered the highway, despite police attempts to detain several other activists, according to an AFP correspondent.
The protesters ignored a request from the mayor's office and the police to remain on the open ground of Malieveld in the city center and not to enter the nearby arterial road.
Several hundred protesters carried banners and placards reading “We believe in life after oil” and waved XR flags, but marched onto the road.
Two protesters also climbed a signpost crossing the A12 before unfurling an XR flag.
Several hours later, police sprayed the protesters with water cannons before detaining the activists who were sitting on the main road.
Most were later released at a location near the ADO stadium on the outskirts of the city, local news radio Omroep West reported.
Protester Christian Loncle, 49, said he believed that “politicians are still not doing enough” to combat climate change.
Referring to the current fires raging in Los Angeles, California, Loncle said he wasn't a scientist to make a direct correlation between climate change and the blazes.
“But we hope that politicians are listening to us instead of waiting until their houses burn down.”
Forest fires occur naturally, but scientists say that man-made climate change is altering the weather and changing the dynamics of fires.
In April last year, climate activist Greta Thunberg was arrested twice during a similar march to protest against fossil fuel subsidies.
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