Climate march
December 12, 2009
Danish police say they have released nearly all of the 968 people detained during a climate rally which drew an estimated 40,000 people in the Danish capital on Saturday.
Law enforcement authorities said only 13 demonstrators were still in custody on Sunday and of those, three are set to be arraigned on preliminary charges of fighting with the police.
On Saturday, the heart of the Danish capital became a sea of blue as environmentalists and anti-capitalist demonstrators gathered in front of parliament at the start of a six-kilometer (four-mile) march that took them to the venue of the ongoing United Nations Climate Summit.
The protesters' aim was to pressure United Nations negotiators to take concrete action on climate change. An estimated 40,000 people attended the march which was jointly organized by over 500 groups from 67 countries.
The procession wound its way from the Folketing, the Danish parliament, to the conference site, the massive Bella Center on the outskirts of the city center.
Demonstrators wore sky blue raincoats or carried blue umbrellas following a call by the environmental group, Friends of the Earth.
Activists slam rich nations
Nigerian Nnimmo Bassey, chairman of Friends of the Earth International, delivered a fiery speech to the crowd.
"We cannot allow carbon traders to damage the world. There is no such thing as clean coal or clean crude. Leave the oil in the soil, leave the coal in the hole," he said. "To those who want to pollute at home and plant a tree somewhere we say no," he added.
The demonstrations come as delegates to the UN Climate Summit currently under way in Copenhagen wrangle over a draft blueprint for a global pact.
At the UN conference itself, developing nations on Friday rejected as "insignificant" an EU pledge of 7.2 billion euros ($10.6 billion) to help them tackle global warming.
The accord, which would see the money paid over three years, came a week before 110 heads of state and government convene in Copenhagen for the finale of the 12-day conference.
The head of Greenpeace, Kumi Naidoo, strongly criticized German Chancellor Angela Merkel for doing too little to help poorer nations cope with the effects of climate change.
"Angela Merkel can steer the rudder in Copenhagen," Naidoo told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper on Saturday. "But her behavior in the current debate is more than disappointing."
In an interview to be published in the Sunday edition of the tabloid daily Bild, Merkel chided the developing countries for expecting richer ones to shoulder more of the burden.
"We will not allow Germany and the other European industrial states to lead the way on climate change, while others do nothing and then poach jobs from us, using the argument of lower costs for environmental protection," Merkel said.
Tight security
The Danish capital had resembled a military zone as authorities prepared for the arrival of activists from all over the world. Helicopters buzzed in the skies while armored police vans and canine squads patrolled the streets, amid fears that Saturday's march could be joined by violent far-left groups.
Police also beefed up security at Denmark's land and sea borders to prevent troublemakers from entering the country. Shopkeepers and businesses were warned of a possible outbreak of violence.
Those warnings unfortunately came to fruition to a small degree, as police arrested nearly a thousand people who had been throwing rocks and fireworks at police and smashing storefront windows.
On Friday, authorities had rounded up 75 anti-capitalist demonstrators, 13 from Germany, who were suspected of trying to set up an unauthorized blockade of companies they thought were emitting greenhouse gases.
Protests worldwide
Protests and marches supporting a new climate covenant took place in more than 100 other countries as well, including Greece, Spain, and Germany.
Hours before the demonstration was due to kick off in Copenhagen, protesters were out in force around Asia, waving banners and chanting slogans urging action from the climate conference.
In Australia, organizers said around 50,000 people had taken to the streets nationwide, wearing sky-blue shoelaces in a call for a strong and binding agreement at the UN talks.
"We want (world leaders) to bring home a treaty, we want them to stand by the Pacific and our neighbors there. And we want them to deliver and ensure a safe climate future for us all," said James Dannenberg, one of the organizers.
Thousands of activists gathered in front of the parliament house in Canberra, while 10,000-strong crowds marched through Sydney, Melbourne and other major cities.
Protesters in Hong Kong – some dressed as pandas – and the Philippines also took to the streets, while in Indonesia, demonstrators rallied in front of the US embassy in the capital Jakarta, calling for help for developing nations in reducing greenhouse gases.
rb/svs/AFP/Reuters/dpa
Editor: Sonia Phalnikar