More than 2,400 demonstrators were arrested at the A12 blockade in The Hague. The police announced this a few hours after the activists were removed from the highway. Dozens of minors are among those arrested.
In a statement, the police said that the demonstrators were taken to the ADO stadium by buses.
The police spent several hours this afternoon arresting climate activists who were blocking the A12 in The Hague. The police arrested the first demonstrators around 2:30 p.m. and they were all removed from the highway by around 6:30 p.m. Water cannons were also used prior to the police action.
The activists blocked the A12 tunnel in protest against subsidies on fossil energy. According to the police, “some force” was used by officers during the arrests.
A little further on, on the Avenue of Reagan and Gorbachev, a so-called support demonstration took place. That demonstration was allowed by the municipality. Dozens of other organizations, including Greenpeace and Milieudefensie, were present.
Extinction Rebellion says that around 25,000 people were present at both protests, but the police have not released anything about this either.
The action on the A12, yet another by Extinction Rebellion (XR), was prohibited in advance by the municipality. In previous actions, hundreds of activists were removed from the tunnel of the Utrechtsebaan, part of the A12.
The police also used water cannons during previous climate blockades on the highway in The Hague, but this time the so-called water throwers were set “a step higher”. “Last time there was more spraying,” says a spokesperson. The hydropower used is still only a fraction of the highest setting.
More demonstrations
As a precaution, black fences were placed above the Utrechtsebaan. In this way, the authorities are trying to prevent people from above from making contact with climate activists in the tunnel. As of today, XR will block the A12 in The Hague every day, the action group has announced.
Minister Jetten for Climate and Energy was present at the demonstration on the Laan van Reagan and Gorbachev. He talked to activists. “I work every day on what XR is rightly asking itself: phasing out all fossil subsidies,” he said in advance on X. About blocking highways, he wrote, “there must be another way.”
What is and is not allowed at a demonstration? We previously made this video about the dilemmas of demonstrating:
According to a report published on Monday, government support for companies that use fossil energy is even greater than previously thought. According to environmental organizations, this amounts to 37.5 billion in subsidies annually.
The government previously announced that it wanted to phase out all fossil subsidies, but there is no plan to do so yet.
NOS op 3 explains how fossil energy is indirectly subsidized by all kinds of tax measures:
- Extinction Rebellion wants to block the A12 in The Hague every day from tomorrow
- How far can activists go? ‘A little inconvenience is fine’
