Activist Greta Thunberg demonstrating in Stockholm. Fridays for Future Local weather hanging.
Greta Thunberg mayhem! Activist amongst 20 arrested in fiery Denmark protest againts ‘genocide and occupation’ in Palestine.
Credit score: Shutterstock, Liv Oeian
Tensions flared outdoors Maersk’s Copenhagen HQ on Monday, February 24, as 20 protesters, together with local weather fireball Greta Thunberg, have been cuffed for demanding the transport big minimize ties with Israel’s navy provide chain.
The demonstration, which noticed activists block the doorway to the worldwide transport behemoth’s places of work, shortly turned chaotic as Danish police moved in with batons and tear fuel to interrupt up the gang, after they refused to budge regardless of being repeatedly requested to take action.
Thunberg, the 21-year-old face of the ‘Fridays for Future’ motion, didn’t mince her phrases. “We’re right here to demand that Maersk should cease all of the transportation of weapons and weapon parts to Israel,” she declared in a video posted on-line. She went additional, calling for the corporate to scrap all contracts and investments linked to what she branded ‘genocide and occupation’ in Palestine.
This isn’t Thunberg’s first foray into political protests – whereas she made her title battling local weather change, she’s been more and more vocal in pro-Palestinian demonstrations for the reason that Israel-Hamas warfare erupted in Gaza.
Maersk hits again
However Maersk isn’t having any of it. The transport titan insists the cargo in query “doesn’t include weapons or ammunition”, as a substitute describing it as “military-related tools” despatched underneath a US-Israel safety cooperation programme.
“The cargo has been screened and complies with relevant legal guidelines,” an organization spokesperson said, firmly pushing again in opposition to claims it’s aiding Israel’s navy efforts.
Police crackdown
As tensions rose, police initially tried to speak protesters down, however when dialogue fell flat, they opted for drive. “It’s non-public property,” a police spokesperson defined. “We tried utilizing dialogue to get the protesters to go away the world, it’s a personal space. And in the long run, the dialogue stopped after which we had to make use of the required means to take away the protesters from the world.”
It’s one more chapter within the ever-growing wave of world protests in opposition to Western navy assist for Israel – and with figures like Thunberg within the combine, this storm is way from over.
Learn extra information from round Europe.
Get extra Danish information in English.