Police attack Copenhagen demonstration - eyewitness
Bill Stickers | 12.12.2009 16:41
a group of us from london joined the main climate demonstration which headed off at 2pm and marched near the libertarian socialist block (note not a black block). After heading over the bridge next to christiania the march was fairly arbitarily boxed in by full riot police; it was massively fast and there was no warning. Everyone from masked people to green ngo's and the danish section of the CWI were boxed in. Its pretty random as a great number of anarchists, with red and black flags were well ahead of the line. As the back line formed a couple of things were tossed, but this was well after the operation had begun - there is no question at all this was in reponse *to* things being thrown, the police vans were ready in the side street at the back and a line had already formed at the front before anything was chucked. The police have stated this was responisve mass arrest to attacks on a ministry and even suggested attempted arson on a car - if this happened it was miles away from the group they boxed in. I cannot vouch it did not happen, but it certainly didn't happen at the time and place given.
The blocked section has been held for several hours now - lots of people have now returned to support them, but they pushed them several blocks back. In the gap between the supporters and the mass arrest they brought in two lines of attack dogs. They are arresting people in great numbers, everyone is sat on the floor with their hands cable tied, sat in straight rows. They are then loading them onto buses in the side street. I have seen them breaking up placrds and loading them into police vans along with random protest detritis, which could be used as evidence of weapons.
We'll post more pics and video when we're fully out of the rough...
The blocked section has been held for several hours now - lots of people have now returned to support them, but they pushed them several blocks back. In the gap between the supporters and the mass arrest they brought in two lines of attack dogs. They are arresting people in great numbers, everyone is sat on the floor with their hands cable tied, sat in straight rows. They are then loading them onto buses in the side street. I have seen them breaking up placrds and loading them into police vans along with random protest detritis, which could be used as evidence of weapons.
We'll post more pics and video when we're fully out of the rough...
Bill Stickers
Comments
Hide the following 11 comments
dunno why there weren't pix there
12.12.2009 16:53
Bill Stickers
ok no pictures - wtf
12.12.2009 17:06
we now hear from the news 400 are arrested and the police are saying they may be arresting up to 800.
this is frankly fucking insane comrades. I was there, fuck all happened before the cops moved in and this is a massive massive police operation. It is the NUMBER ONE danish news story. It is the most blatant set-up i have ever seen.
Bill Stickers
re pics
12.12.2009 17:33
Rename them with .jpg at the end and they should get through
IMCista
acab
12.12.2009 17:41
The organizers of the march that has now ended are calling for a rally tonight at the detention center for the liberation of all those arrested.
spread the word
anon
last attempt for pics and now some video
12.12.2009 17:50
i have no idea if the pics will load yet but the video is better anyway. Check danish mainstream for footage of hundreds of people tied up in the street.
Still not actually out of here, will explain all in time.
Bill Stickers
bill post pics to indy dk
12.12.2009 17:57
meep
WATCH THIS VIDEO
12.12.2009 17:58
you can see exactly what happened - the police randomly charged. No reasons given for the arrests. Video in english.
Bill Stickers
dont' really get these spectacular mega-demos anyway
12.12.2009 18:33
I don't really see the point of these demos. They either make you look and feel completely powerless or if there's trouble, make you look like a bunch of thugs. Either way you lose.
It certainly doesn't seem to affect policy that much. What's wrong with actually doing grassroots activism in our home countries and banding together to share information and put pressure on the system where it crosses national boundaries?
Trade unionists don't mess around with silly demos outside the CBI, they get on with the job of protecting workers rights and drawing people into the union. Environmentalists and campaigners can learn from that...
Anonymous
disgracefull
12.12.2009 19:01
And SMS's are going around asking for solidarity demos today at 9pm in what has started to be called the "climate Guantanamo"
anon
To OLD to Ill
12.12.2009 21:56
underclassrising.net
CJA press release
12.12.2009 23:37
Sat 12 Dec
Danish police have indiscriminately arrested hundreds of climate justice activists during a climate change protest made up of 100,000 people that took place today in Copenhagen. Questions have been raised about the fact that the arrests occurred in a different time and place to where some trouble had momentarily flared earlier in the day. Journalists have been restricted from reporting at the site of the arrests since 1800hrs.
It's estimated that 100 people are still being held on the road in extremely cold weather, cuffed and forced into seated positions in lines (1). They have expressed severe physical discomfort and have no access to water, medical attention or toilet facilities since 1530hrs. Many activists are reported to have urinated themselves while detained on the ground.
An estimated 200 have been removed from the site and taken away in coaches. Several people are reported to have fainted around 1945hrs.
Helga Matthiassen, who was detained for an hour before being released due to an injury she had recently sustained, said, "Of course we're angry - people all over the world are angry about being lied to by governments who are making a corporate deal at the climate talks, and now when we try to protest against this on the streets we are randomly held by police.
"Not only have we been denied the right to protest, but our basic human rights have also been ignored in this ludicrous, staged police exercise. It seems Danish Police have a new motto: why just criminalise protesters, when you can dehumanise them too?" (2)
ENDS
Contact: 0045 5066 9028 (International)
0045 4129 4994 (Danish)
_______________________________________
NOTES TO EDITORS
(1)
(2) See Helga interviewed on TV2 News, 2015 broadcast
Climate Justice Action