Around 190 climate demonstrators were arrested on Saturday at roadblocks of Extinction Rebellion (XR) on the Amsterdam ring road. The police report this in a press release. According to the ANP news agency, the activists demonstrated at the AD and driveway of the A10 near the former ING building on the Amsterdam Zuidas.
According to the police, the demonstrators occupy the highway around noon with vans. Part of the A10 at Amsterdam Zuid station was closed to traffic for approximately 45 minutes. Another group of protesters tried to occupy the A10 at the Amstelveenseweg, but according to the ANP this could prevent the police.
GVB buses were present to remove the demonstrators, a reporter from the ANP saw on site. Before the police proceeded to arrests, people also voluntarily entered.
XR wants ING, of which the head office is now located on the Bijlmerdreef in Amsterdam-Zuidoost, stops financing the fossil industry. It is the fifth time that the action group is blocking the highway, including in February and April last year. In March the police managed to prevent an action on the A10.
The demonstration was forbidden earlier this week by Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema. The Security Triangle called the protest irresponsibly “due to the very large safety risk” for the traffic and accessibility of the nearby Hospital Amsterdam UMC.
A spokeswoman for XR spoke to the ANP of a successful action.