Action On Climate Change
Actions in Den Haag
The wash-out talks on climate change at den Haag (Netherlands ) in November were matched by a festival of opposition and direct action. Day-by-day ways were found to make the peoples’ voices heard.
Saturday
2-3000 people built a dyke around the Conference Centre in a respectable action by Friends of the Earth. Meanwhile at the Climate Technology trade fair activists ’raised sea levels’ in the building by replumbing the basement. Shell's HQ was paintbombed, too, and one of their garages had its windows put in.
Sunday
A lunchtime critical mass of 200 cyclists preceded the opening of a 2 day 'Counter Conference’. Later, delegates and ministers arriving at the station were met by a crowd of 500 making a massive racket. In the evening, the ’Liquidators’ showed up at a dinner for the ministers and spilt symbolic ’blood’ red wine on them.
Monday
ASEED (Action for Solidarity, Equality, Environment and Development) activists wearing gags occupied the Ministry of the Environment, after their access to the Conference Centre was withdrawn by the UN. In the evening, activists targeted the press launch of a website where emissions are ’traded’. A samba band brought the noise, while inside undercover troublemakers caused disruption with words and a smokebomb, and leafleted a surprisingly sympathetic audience. Elsewhere, hackers shut down the website.
Tuesday
People entered the offices of the International Emissions Trading Association to drop banners, dish out verbal grief and spread pro-planet propaganda.
Wednesday
The day started with 150 arrested at an anti-nuclear demo. Meanwhile, activists were infiltrating the Conference Centre. More replumbing, computers disappeared, and pixieing of all kinds went on right under the noses of the security. The head of the US delegation got pied.
The Pie-ing
Frank Loy, the leader of the US delegation and all-round corporate stooge, was greeted with a black (offset) forest gateau by 2 women known only as Agents Cherry Pie and Sushi. This is their statement:
"This pie, Frank Loy, was for you and all the vested interests you represent. This conference is a farce - it isn’t about finding solutions to an ecological crisis, it’s become a series of trade talks... The Western lifestyle is not sustainable, and the rich can't buy their way out of global warming. Today you are being held accountable for your actions and you will continue to meet resistance.”
Pieing info: http://www.asis.com/~bbb/
The Noise Demo
On Sunday over 50 people performed a traditional Dutch "noise demo” outside of Breda Prison in support of a UK woman who was arrested on Monday and held on remand. She had stood up to rant and been violently ejected by security guards. Later she was arrested for spurious reasons.
Everyone had things to make noise with -metal sheets and sticks, drums - and fireworks, distress flares and orange smoke bombs were set off. The prisoner, now released with a court date in January, said it was a brilliant thing to happen and really raised her spirits.