arthoer t1_j6bxakv wrote
Reply to comment by IkLms in Hundreds of climate activists were arrested in The Hague after blocking the A12 highway in both ways on Saturday afternoon in protest at government subsidies for fossil fuels such as oil and gas by DoremusJessup
Blocking that specific road is dangerous as fuck. Even attempting it is a felony as people can get hurt. Let alone being stuck during any protest for a day with a newborn in your car. Aside from that; its the only entry into the city out of 3. Going to the other 2 is a massive detour for anyone; let alone emergency responses. Even if it was legal; screw those guys. We have plenty of ways of protesting in a sensible manner. I 100% stand by their cause, but not on how they handle this. Cause what happens now is that their protest has a negative vibe and the news is only talking about the road block instead of their cause.
Regardless, the protestors complimented the police for their emphatic approach. It all went peaceful. As it should. I personally just think its not a smart idea to sit on a highway in a tunnel. Greenpeace, oxfam novib and many others think the same. So they protested on thr Malieveld; which is a designated default terrain (besides the highway entry) for protesting/ festivals, etc.
ZoDalek t1_j6cxeq3 wrote
> Blocking that specific road is dangerous as fuck.
It’s not. Police (and traffic lights) reroute traffic so the protestors can enter safely. There are plenty of other routes available. This isn’t much different from similar road closures like sports events, like this very road for the CPC run.
> We have plenty of ways of protesting in a sensible manner. > ... > Greenpeace, oxfam novib and many others think the same
Greenpeace was blocking a private jet platform just a few months ago and people were similarly going on the “it’s not safe! go to the proper place!” angle.
But when back in 2019 Greenpace had a protest at Schiphol Plaza (a lawful place to protest) the municipality tried to forbid it anyway and sent in the military police. Afterwards of course the judge overturned the ban, the emergency order (to clear the protest), and the clearing of the protest in itself.
> Malieveld; which is a designated default terrain
This is simply not how the law works, protests are not a favour to be granted at a specific place. Instead, the starting point is the protestor’s choice where and how to protest and that the government must do their very best to facilitate this. Restrictions and bans can only be instituted for a handful of specific reasons and must a applied as sparingly as possible.
It was quite egregious that police tried to clear out the support protest on the viaduct. People there were standing peacefully in safe places and there were no lawful grounds (in the WOM) to evict them.
manwithcellphone t1_j6cztm2 wrote
But you don’t get it- when they close the roads for events there’s money to be made so obviously it can’t be a bad thing then
/s
arthoer t1_j6e4w68 wrote
You do not live in den hague, thats obvious
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