NEW DELHI: Climate activist
Greta Thunberg
was taken into custody by
Dutch authorities
on Saturday for blocking a major road in
The Hague
.
Thunberg and fellow
Extinction Rebellion
protesters were found seated in a bus as police made arrests, according to an AFP correspondent.
Earlier it was reported that scores of police officers, some mounted on horses, thwarted demonstrators including Thunberg from accessing the A12 main road leading into the coastal city of The Hague in the Netherlands, a frequent site of protests by the Extinction Rebellion (XR) group.
Carrying XR flags and signs reading “stop fuel subsidies now!” and “the planet is dying!”, protesters marched from the city center to a field adjacent to the highway, only to be met by a barrier of law enforcement.
Greta Thunberg, garbed in a gray top, black pants, and blue shoes was part of the assembly from the onset, engaging in chants with the group before the abrupt halt. “It’s important to demonstrate today because we are living in a state of planetary emergency,” Thunberg told AFP amidst police blockades.
“We must do everything to avoid that crisis and to save human lives,” she added.
Activists highlighted that although there is substantial support from the Dutch parliament and the public to cut fossil fuel subsidies but “the plans will not be implemented before 2030, or even 2035”.
XR group expressed concern that the ecological emergency persists while the government delays action, asserting that time is of the essence. The demonstration, XR explained, forms part of a strategy to exert pressure on the
Dutch government
ahead of an upcoming debate on fossil fuel subsidies in June.
