Police arrest 12 Extinction Rebellion activists at anti-Zwarte Piet protest in Emmen

A group of Extinction Rebellion (XR) activists disrupted the Emmen city council meeting on Monday to demand that the municipality bans blackface at its Sinterklaas party on Saturday, November 12. The police arrested twelve people, seven of whom were still in custody on Tuesday.

Anti-racism action group Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP) called on other activists to also protest against the Sinterklaas character, usually portrayed by a white person in blackface makeup, this year. XR gave heed. “With a sit-in during the council meeting, the activists confront local politics and demand that the municipality of Emmen, as one of the last in the Netherlands, renounces Zwarte Piet,” the climate activists said in a statement. XR is “an ally against the racist caricature.”

“We are campaigning from the climate justice movement because racism and the climate crisis are inextricably linked,” said XR spokesperson Noor Blokhuis. “Climate struggle is not without a fight against racism.”

Last month, the municipality of Emmen decided to delay the decision on what to do about Zwarte Piet in his blackface makeup by another year. “This directly undermines the local government's role in combating discrimination and using taxpayers’ money to organize events that are welcoming to every child and adult,” Blokhuis said.

According to XR, taking action against social inequality is crucial to the fight against the climate crisis. “By supporting KOZP, the activists say no to racism and speak out against all oppression that makes exploitation of people and planet possible.”

“This year, we are calling on all people and organizations to take action against Zware Piet racism,” KOZP activist Jerry Afriyie said in response to the Extinction Rebellion protest. “Together, we are stronger, and we applaud these heroes.”

Emmen mayor Eric van Oosterhout called in the police after the activists refused to leave the city council meeting, RTV Drenthe reports. The police arrested 12 activists. Five were released again on Monday evening. Officers are still trying to identify the other seven, and they are still in custody. They are charged with disrupting public order.