The many arrests during the climate protest on the A12 last weekend led to the necessary media attention. A boost for one of the goals of the actions: to ensure that climate change is increasingly placed higher on the political agenda.
Nearly eight hundred people. So many protesters were rounded up this weekend during the Extinction Rebellion climate demonstrations. “We choose to be arrested. It is part of our strategy,” a spokesperson for climate action group Extinction Rebellion told NU.nl on Monday.
According to the spokesperson for the action group, it is not difficult to arrest the climate protesters. “After all, Extinction Rebellion doesn’t use violence.” According to Jacquelien van Stekelenburg, professor of Social Change and Conflict, having demonstrators arrested is part of an efficient strategy.
Every time the media reports about a protest, it generates attention. The group is then not only discussed among the public, but probably also in politics. “And that contributes to the goal of this action group,” explains Bert Klandermans, emeritus professor of sociology.
Protests or demonstrations are often only of interest to the media if arrests or violence take place. “So if you want attention for something, you have to do something unusual. Something that rubs,” says Klandermans. Due to the large number of arrests, the protest was widely covered by the media. As a result, there is not only more attention for the protest, but also for the goal, namely a better approach to climate change.
Ontvang meldingen bij klimaatnieuws
Impact Extinction Rebellion is growing thanks to help from celebrities
It used to be different, says the Extinction Rebellion spokesperson. Three years ago, according to the action group, it was only about the arrests. Today, they feel they are drawing much more attention to climate change itself. “The media is no longer just about the protests, but also about the content.”
Van Stekelenburg states that Extinction Rebellion in the Netherlands has been good at coming up with mediagenic protest actions since its start in 2018. “They are getting better at that, because the movement is growing. The number of people participating in the protests is increasing. The climate is now in the top three of the greatest concern of people in the Netherlands.”
The impact is growing, partly thanks to the role of celebrities. They reach many people through social media. As a result, climate change is more often the subject of discussion and is more likely to be in the news.
Last protesters released
The last two Extinction Rebellion demonstrators who were still detained after the blockade on the A12 in The Hague have now also been released, the police said.
According to Extinction Rebellion, a total of more than a thousand people attended the action. Together they blocked the Utrechtsebaan, the stretch of highway between the temporary House of Representatives and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate. There were still about 2,000 supporters along the road, the climate action group reports.
The activists demonstrated against subsidies that the government gives to producers of fossil energy. According to Extinction Rebellion, the Netherlands spends 17.5 billion euros annually on subsidies for fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and gas.
Extinction Rebellion has announced a new blockade of the A12 for March 11.
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