A blog from the Copenhagen COP15 Summit about Climate Change, alternative energy
and... stuff!

The “Reclaim Power” protest in Copenhagen, 16th December

December 16th, 2009

Last night, I went to a planing meeting with people of all nationalities on the outskirts of Copenhagen. The plan was how to get into the Bella Center grounds where COP15 was being held. A number of different groups were formed – some on bikes, some on an organised march and some on a DIY kind of action! I chose to join the organised march – the Blue Bloc.

I am not a serial protester! There have been marches all week, this is only my second one. It was an important one though, because the plan was to get into the Bella Center car park and hold a “People’s Assembly”, where the real issues on Climate Change would be presented. Issues that aren’t even being talked about in there at the moment. Why not? Because inside the discussion is based on how to make money off Climate Change, not how to solve it. With all the NGOs (Non Governmental Organisations) being kicked out the day before – it was just Fossil Fuel Lobbyists and leaders left in that place. This would be a non-violent protest, that was the clear message, unless some bad eggs started it, which can set things off.

So, we met at Tårnby train station at 8am, Dec 16th, 3km from the Bella Center. A lot of people showed up, at least one thousand, contrary to media reports of a few hundred. We marched in an orderly fashion down to the center, with the sound truck in the middle, belting out the chants! There were police the whole way down, but we had formed human chains along the sides to stop them splitting the march, as they had done on Saturday.

I had met some friendly Danish Blokes at Christiania on the Monday, who had offered to let me join them in the march, so I wasn’t on my own if anything bad happened. They were pro-active, which was good, so I followed them and we formed part of the chain on the left hand side.

Now, what I hadn’t realised was that when we got down to the Bella Center, this would be the front line of the charge against the Police! Once we got there the truck started counting down from 10 to charge. When you’re looking at a line of riot Police a metre in front of you, all armored up and you’re about to charge them, the question “what the fuck am I doing here?” does enter your head…

We heard the word GO and we all started pushing forward with linked arms, the Police seemed to be more interested in going for the women and the shorter people around me. They pulled up 3 Riot Vans in front of us to block the fence, so this split the crowd up. That was their best tactic, as it left only small gaps to get past, easily blocked off by a few of them.

We were all split up now, but still trying to get past. The Pepper Spray started coming out and the Police were dousing everyone with it! They were beating people back with their batons too. Tear gas was thrown once, but the wind was going the wrong direction and so they went back to Pepper Spray and batons! It’s worth noting that’s it’s illegal to wear goggles or a gas mask at a protest, so the police can gas you more effectively!

There were about 90 people inside the Bella Center at the same time throwing their own protest. They had planned to march outside and join us, but the police had now stopped anyone from leaving or entering the summit; even delegates.

There was no way we could break that wall of coppers, so they decided to have the People’s Assembly outside on the truck. The Police didn’t like that either, so we had to defend the truck next. That didn’t last long though and they had us out of there quick. They were now pushing us into a smaller group from both ends of the road with all their vans. They got everyone into a manageable space and let them have their People’s Assembly on the road outside. I guess they stopped us getting in, so they were happy enough by now

When I first got here, I felt bad. I didn’t want to go against the Police – I just wanted the point to be made about what’s NOT being discussed inside. Once you see them start beating people and using the pepper spray, you start to feel anger and I can see how these things escalate. Luckily, there were no bad eggs amongst the protestors and I did not see anyone behave violently. Solidarity is the word that gets thrown around a lot at protests and I did see a lot of that today. There were very few arrests.

Was it successful? We didn’t get onto the grounds of the Bella Center, but the whole point was to bring attention to what actually needs to be done on Climate Change. The news didn’t paint it in a bad way, although none of them seem to have shown the footage of the People’s Assembly, which is a shame. At the very least it has raised awareness that people are not happy with the leaders negotiating our future away to the fossil fuel industry.

Photos are a bit crap, as I only took my phone, but you can view them here

• Photos of stuff