Extinction Rebellion announces another A12 highway blockade in March

Climate group Extinction Rebellion plans to again block the A12 highway in The Hague on Saturday, March 11. That would be the sixth time the climate activists blocked this stretch of highway.

Extinction Rebellion activists blocked the Utrechtsebaan, the stretch of the A12 in The Hague that runs by the temporary parliament building and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy, this past Saturday. The highway was impassable for hours.

The police arrested over 700 people at the protest. Many hundreds of people stood above the tunnel pit to express support and cheer the activists on.

Extinction Rebellion is protesting against the Dutch government’s subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. According to the climate activists, the Netherlands annually grants 17.5 billion euros in subsidies to oil, coal, and gas, among other things.

Ahead of Saturday’s protest, the police arrested seven activists for calling people to join the demonstration. According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), they were guilty of sedition by urging others to commit a criminal offense. The OM hit them with restraining orders, banning them from the Utrechtsebaan for several months. At least one of them still participated in the highway blockade on Saturday.