Extinction Rebellion to block A12 motorway during NATO Summit

The climate activist group Extinction Rebellion is planning on blocking the A12 motorway in The Hague during the NATO Summit. The group Extinction Rebellion Justice Now will also be participating in the action. They say they are demonstrating against climate disruption, racism, fascism, and genocide.

"While government leaders continue to rake in ever-larger arms budgets, Israel is continuing their genocide of Palestinians, we are stuck with racist and fascist policies, and the climate crises are continuing,” a spokesperson for XR said on Tuesday. The group thinks that the NATO Summit is the right time to get their point across.

The road blockade will be on the A12 close to the temporary building of the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament, and the employee organization VNO-NCW, who are pleading for more investment in Defense.

“The Netherlands needs to make justifiable decisions,” XR said. The activists want all weapon supplies to Israel to end and are again calling for all subsidies regarding fossil fuel to end. In addition, there will be calls for an end to the extreme right-wing policies in the Netherlands. The call came a few minutes after it was reported that PVV leader Geert Wilders had decided to step out of the Cabinet.

The Hague has said that they are aware of the announcement. “The right to demonstrate also applies during the NATO Summit,” a spokesperson said about the plans.

According to the municipality, several protests set to be held during the NATO Summit have been announced, and there are ongoing conversations with all parties regarding this. “We also seek that contact if an action has not been reported via a notification. This also applies to this party that makes announcements via (social) media.”

Extinction Rebellion has blocked the A12 in The Hague on several occasions over the years. In most cases, they were taken off the road after a few hours and placed in vans. They were then dropped off on the outskirts of the city and were allowed to leave without being prosecuted.

The Mayor of The Hague, Jan van Zanen, had previously stated that an emergency ordinance for the A12 is not possible. If it was, then nobody would have been allowed to enter the area, and the road would have been completely closed off. Van Zanen emphasized that the A12 blockade is not permitted and that action will be taken against it.

The NATO Summit will be held on June 24 and June 25. XR has said that they plan to block the A12 at noon on June 25.