Extinction Rebellion protesters block A12, police will not intervene

Extinction Rebellion activists blocked the A12 at around noon on Saturday. The climate action group plans for the protesters to spend the night in the tunnel. The police unions have already announced that they will not intervene as part of their early retirement action.

XR protesters are expected to end their climate march, which started earlier this month in Arnhem, in The Hague later this morning. The march will then culminate in the blockade.

Extinction Rebellion demands an immediate end to the annual fossil fuel subsidies of up to 46.4 billion euros. "The government subsidizes fossil fuel major polluters with tens of billions of euros every year instead of investing in facilities that are really needed, such as good education for everyone, affordable healthcare, and free public transport. (...) By maintaining fossil subsidies, this cabinet is partly responsible for this. We will keep coming back until the subsidies are abolished," XR spokesperson Rozemarijn van 't Einde said in a press release.

The police will stop working during the blockade on the A12. A spokesperson said that the action will last from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and what happens after that is up to the mayor. A spokesperson for the mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen, did not respond to questions and only said that the situation was being monitored.

XR said in response to the police’s absence that their decision to be absent, especially during the blockade of the A12, shows that they "themselves recognize that the usual large-scale police deployment is disproportionate and unnecessary."

Rijkswaterstaat has already announced that it will close the A12 near The Hague if XR blocks the road as soon as Van Zanen gives the formal order to do so.