On Saturday morning, the 10:08 am train from Amsterdam to The Hague Central is full of demonstrators going to the Extinction Rebellion (ER) demonstration. “I don’t think it will last long,” replies a young woman when asked what she expects from it. “The police know exactly what will happen. We gather at the Malieveld and at 12 noon we enter the A12 to block it near the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the building of the House of Representatives. I expect a lot of police to stop us.”
The signs for the blockade of the A12 are therefore not good. On Thursday, six ER climate activists were arrested for incitement; blocking public roads is a criminal offence. They were released later in the day but subject to an area ban. For the next three months, they are not allowed to enter the area around the A12. Yesterday, the court in preliminary relief proceedings upheld this prohibition in preliminary relief proceedings.
Amnesty sent observers
At a quarter to twelve it looks as if the demonstrator from the train is right that the blockade will not succeed. There are still few people on the Malieveld. Only at the beginning of the Utrechtse Baan, where the A12 goes down under the viaduct, are two small groups of demonstrators on the Malieveld. The approximately forty demonstrators are surrounded by at least as many journalists and photographers.
Along the Utrechtse Baan, about fifty police officers are lined up on both sides with batons, in the distance are blue vans from the Mobile Unit. Here and there are some ‘demonstration observers’ of Amnesty International. “Today, we are mainly concerned with the 17.5 billion euros that the fossil industry still receives from the government,” a demonstrator calmly explains to a group of journalists at five to twelve. “And only 6 billion goes to climate policy. That’s one no brainer. I do not understand that so few people in the Netherlands are concerned about this.”
For example, at five to twelve, the chance that demonstrators will succeed in blocking the highway seems small. But at three to twelve suddenly a group of about forty demonstrators is walking on the A12. The police do not put any obstacles in their way and only shout through sound systems that ‘it is forbidden and a criminal offense to enter the A12’. Within a minute the number has increased to several hundred. Accompanied by demonstrators singing and chanting slogans walking down to the building where the House of Representatives is temporarily housed. “Climate Justice Now”, it sounds over and over again.
Singing in the den of lions
Hundreds of demonstrators are also marching on the Prins Clauslaan, which runs on both sides of the sunken highway, to the building of the House of Representatives. There they stop. Down on the A12, hundreds of climate activists are singing and chanting, as if in a lion’s den. Above, along the balustrades of the Prince Clauslaan and the viaducts, there are at least as many. A man with a feather on his head tries to address the demonstrators through a megaphone, but the police drown him out thanks to the better sound system with the announcement that the demonstrators are committing a criminal offense. He also calls – in vain – to move the demonstration to the Malieveld. On the Prins Clauslaan, police officers ask the demonstrators to go to the Malieveld. Some officers allow themselves to be photographed with demonstrators.
Three canvases have now been hung on the concrete wall along the A12 that is visible from the House of Representatives building. One of them features a large yellow Fuck You hand against a purple background. Occasionally, to the tones of the chorus of Queen’s ‘We Will Rock You’, the slogan ‘Stop that subsidy’ is heard. The Haarlem Climate Choir will sing songs such as ‘Tijd voor een Blokkade’ and ‘Fight for Climate Justice’.
For half an hour the atmosphere is almost festive and the piece A12 near the House of Representatives resembles a theater, with the audience above and below, in the lion’s den, artists. As if performing in a circus, two demonstrators wearing helmets climb lampposts, stretch ropes between them and hang up a large banner with the inscription: ‘Stop Fossil Subsidies’. Meanwhile, more and more police appear, especially down on the A12.
At one o’clock two buses arrive on the A12. Then it becomes clear what all those policemen have come for. One by one, the seated and recumbent demonstrators are picked up and carried away or dragged across the ground. Sometimes by two policemen, often by four and sometimes even by five. Some demonstrators walk with the police. “You’re not alone”, it sounds from above when another demonstrator disappears in the bus.
“The Working Conditions Act states that at least four police officers are required to carry a demonstrator away,” says a spectator at the top of the balustrade. Another states that Lucas Winnips, one of the climate activists who were banned from the area, was present and has been arrested. Yet another says that most of the hundreds of demonstrators dragged away are released after about eight hours and only a minority of activists known to the police are reported.
Demo takes a bit long
A fourth spectator, a history student from Leiden who, like all the other demonstrators, does not want to give his name, answers when asked that he finds the demonstration impressive. “But it does take a bit of time,” he adds. “That is also the intention,” explains a bystander. He turns out to be a protester who has registered with Extinction Rebellion in advance for the blockade. “The whole demonstration is well planned,” he says. “We’ve had an extensive briefing from Extinction Rebellion and also a course in what to do if you’re towed away. As a demonstrator you can specify the risk you are willing to run. There are four risk groups. The lowest risk is: leave when the police ask, the highest risk is taken by the demonstrators down here who let themselves be dragged away and taken away. Then you form groups via social media. The intention is that you are never alone and always keep an eye on the other group members.”
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He also knows where all those demonstrators came from at three to twelve: “Most groups did not stand in the middle of the Malieveld but on the edges, and not together but scattered. But there was always close contact between the groups, and so, suddenly and out of the blue, we were able to get onto the A12 at a well-chosen moment. Yes, it was all very well coordinated.”