Amsterdam will also ban second Extinction Rebellion highway blockade, mayor says

Extinction Rebellion’s blockade of the A10 highway was prohibited the first time, so it will also be banned the second time. Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema said this on Thursday afternoon in an emergency debate of the General Affairs council committee about the action Extinction Rebellion wants to hold on February 24.

Halsema also said that the fact that the climate action group wants to block the A10 for a second time is changing the attitude among the Amsterdam mayor, police chief, and chief public prosecutor. “The experiences gained last time play a role in the next intervention.” Besides saying that “proportionality is weighed differently,” she did not want to anticipate how the authorities would act during the demonstration.

Halsema said she doubts that quick and tough action by the police will discourage Extinction Rebellion. She referred to the climate group's actions on the A12 in The Hague, where activists kept returning even after the police used a water canon on them.

When asked whether the Amstelveenseweg would again be designated as an alternative location for the protest, the mayor replied that she, the police, and the prosecutor still need to discuss this further. The location was “immediately pushed aside by Extinction Rebellion” last time, so “I don’t expect much from an alternative location,” Halsema said.

According to the Amsterdam VVD, which requested the emergency debate, it is “extremely irresponsible” that the climate action group is using the “important traffic artery” as a protest location.

The demonstration on the highway is against ING’s financing policy, and the protest location is next to ING’s old head office, also known as “the shoe.” The VUMC, which is also located nearby, previously stressed that the accessibility of the hospital is vital for staff, patients, and visitors. During the first action, ambulances were not affected by the demonstration, the hospital said afterward.

The police arrested almost 400 activists during the previous demonstration on December 30. The municipality of Amsterdam had banned the demonstration. The police accused the participants who stepped onto the highway of creating a “life-threatening situation for themselves and other road users.”