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Copenhagen day eight and nine: police repression intensifies
We began our morning of the 15th with a trip to the world famous Christiania—a 41 hectare self-governed community that began as an occupation of a military base in Christianshavn in 1971. The people of Christiania have their own schools, waste management, collective businesses and system of law. Community members live rent free and tax free and have successfully been able to fight off years of police raids, arrests and confrontations. On the night of the 14th, the night before our visit, police broke up a community climate change solutions event with tear gas and dogs. The confrontation ended in fist fights, arrests and random searches of people under cause of ‘suspicion’.
Danish citizens are outraged. Well over 1,200 arrests have been made so far, including a leader from Reclaim Power based in the USA who was arrested inside of the Klimaforum facility where the alternative discussions are held. Our Danish friend and activist who met us at Christiania informed us that the police have been granted special privileges for the COP15 that they have been using to undermine local activists organizing for the Assembly on the 16th. He told us that, over the last few weeks, police have detained Danish leaders of the Assembly for periods of up to one month. He said that police have harassed medical support workers and arrested cooks who are being prevented from buying food to feed the activists. Last night during the raid at Christiania, police smashed windows of the medical building in Christiania. We toured Christiania and stopped in front of the Trama Support Centre. There many windows had been broken by the police a few hours earlier. These were covered with cardboard and taped up. We were asked not to take photos as many activists were nervous about police action continuing and were not allowing strangers, including us to take random photos.
When we got back to the Klimaforum a gathering of at least 300 activists and media people was taking place in the entry lobby area, to demand the freedom from prison of an international activist, Luca. A number of women and men representatives of movements, including La Via Campesina representatives from Korea and India, spoke out against the repressive tactics of the police. We learned from one of the speakers that a leader from the organization Reclaim Power based in the USA was arrested by police who came inside of the Klimaforum facility while discussions were taking place. Protesting the violation of democracy, as one speaker at a rally this afternoon declared, is not what we came to Denmark to do: we came here to organize with each other against climate crimes and to defend our planet. Instead we are forced to defend our lives and each other from crimes against democracy.
Directly after this gathering, we attended a performance in one of the large auditoriums at the Klimaforum. One of the most striking performances was of group poetry and dance by Lain American women dressed in tiger costumes or should we say ‘women tigers’ because their costumes had card-board cut out breasts and vaginas. Their poetry powerfully presented the stories of women in communities impacted by climate change and environmental destruction. This theatre group underlined the indivisibility of climate change, gender justice and social justice.
The Angry Mermaid Awards followed this performance (the award was named after a famous mermaid statue in Copenhagen harbor). Nnimmo Bassey and Naomi Klein hosted the event which is meant to pay tribute to the worst climate criminal on the planet. A dimension of the award event was its focus on lobbyists for the corporations or the corporate business fronts such as the American Petroleum Institute. Over 1500 people at the Klimaforum voted on which of eight climate criminals listed should be recognized. The American Petroleum Institute got third place for representing oil companies all over the world who continue to extract fossil fuels and mess up our climate. Royal Dutch Shell got second place for its investment in the tar sands and Monsanto won first place. Monsanto was honoured for it’s genetically modified soy which is included in the Clean Development Mechanism and biofuel initiatives. People in the crowed booed and jeered the Monsanto ‘representative’ who came on stage to accept the award with enthusiasm. Naomi Klein pointed out that the awards were especially important because they expose the real power behind governments who, according to Nnimmo Bassey, whisper in the ears of government negotiators, ruling the minds of the front men who make the deals against people and the climate.
Wednesday 16 December 2009 - the Reclaim Power action begins
7am: Terran and I got to the train station to find hundreds of police already there, meeting demonstrators who wanted to be close to the Bella Centre from the beginning of the day rather than moving in with the big demonstration that is scheduled to arrive about 11 this am from a more distant meeting point about three km from the centre, walking all the way. Police were searching bodies and bags looking for any sharp objects, stones or any projectiles, gas, spray paint and even headgear that could be described as masks. Even the carrying much less the wearing of any mask like clothing is illegal under the Danish law. So far there had been no arrests. Terran got on the train to go to the meeting place for those marching to the Bella Centre. I began walking around the security perimeter watching the police, the police dogs and dozens of vehicles for arrestees moving about. Of course delegates and ngo and media representatives were streaming into the Bella Cnetre. There seemed to be much less of a congested line than yesterday in front of the security who check passes before allowing people into the Bella Centre. This lack of congestion reflects the fact that about two thirds of the people with passes for earlier days have been denied these passes for today and for the next and final two days of the climate meeting, because of the capacity of the Bella Centre and because the heads of state are arriving.
There is a spectacular range of posters, banners and signs near the press and delegates entrance to the conference hall. Greenpeace has a huge screen on which well edited footage from inside and outside the negotiations is being screened for all those waiting to get through security to see. The police continue to search selected people.
I just telephoned Peter, one friend who is in the march and he says it will be about 15 minutes before it arrives at the centre. He reported that a few of the marchers in the very front of the demonstration have been arrested by the police. The police are crowded very close around the 3,000 who are marching.
11:20am: I am back in my host´s apartment after being outside for some hours in freezing sharp Canadian-type wind and snow. I see African delegates in nothing but their indoor clothes, freezing and trying to get shelter. Dogs are everywhere. Terran just phoned to say that the 3000 demonstrators are near the Bella Centre and one delegate inside who agreed with the request of the Reclaim Power action organizers to leave the negotiations and walk out and join the demonstrators who want to shut down the talks and have a peoples assembly just outside the formal talks building to pass the Declaration on system change - not climate change - that he and other delegates have now moved to join these demonstrators. I am now also going the two blocks outside the apartment where we are staying to try to join the demonstrators and delegates who have left the Bella Centre.
“System change”. Wow! You go girl! Women like you and Naomi Klein are a credit to both your gender and to the human race. Your detailed account of the Police crackdown on demonstrators in Copenhagen shines a light on the world situation right now, which is the fact that we are all at the mercy of corporate bandits and sociopaths - ruthless, greedy, secretive, very secretive, pigs, and our leaders have been subsumed in their machinations. Power to the people.
#1. Posted by Madeline Bruce in Nanaimo, B. C. on December 16th 2009 at 3:07pm