Monday marked the fourth consecutive day of mass demonstrations in Copenhagen surrounding the UN Climate Change negotiations (Conference of Parties 15). It also marked the fourth day of mass arrests under a newly passed Danish law that allows police to preemptively arrest and detain anyone for up to twelve hours who they feel is likely to break the law in the near future. To the shock of Danish citizens and activists from around the world, this has effectively criminalized dissent during the climate talks. Police have arrested over 1600 people since the Climate Summit began but have charged less than a dozen people with crimes.
Last night, Canadian author and journalist Naomi Klein spoke to a group of more than 500 climate justice activists in Freetown Christiania, the autonomously-governed squatted neighborhood in Copenhagen. Klein was critical of the UN negotiations taking place inside the Bella Center, calling them "disastrous for the world" and called for activists to take action in solidarity with the developing world and shut the conference:
Much of the discussion in Christiania revolved around planning for the massive protests intent on shifting the dialogue on climate talks on Wednesday, December 16th. Activists discussed tactics for disrupting the conference and concerns that police clashes with protesters are overshadowing the big picture in Copenhagen. Klein plead with activists to remain non-violent in the face of police aggression. Check the video:
Shortly after the talk in Christiania Monday night, a small group of militant provocateurs blocked the street leading to Christiania, lit fires, and engaged in street fights with police. The police responded by raiding Christiania in a volley of tear gas and arresting an additional 200 people.
Despite all this, activists in Copenhagen remain committed to disrupting the Climate Conference on Wednesday with direct action and civil disobedience.
Stay tuned for more updates from Kelly Benjamin in the streets of Copenhagen.
This article appears in Dec 9-15, 2009.