ARBITRARY ARRESTS DURING THE DEMONSTRATION OF THE 12TH.

The ATTAC march was situated in the second third of the demonstration of this Saturday 12^th.

For 40 minutes, we marched in the streets of Copenhagen without the least incident to occur; the atmosphere of the march was rather pleasant, fun and imaginative. We were about to approach the first suburbs in the direction of Bella Center where are held UNO Summit negotiations, when the policemen on foot walked through the march perpendicular to the road and blocked passage for the demonstrators. A few seconds later, 5 police vans cut us off the end of the demonstration. We were about a 100 people, mainly from ATTAC and from Bizi, stuck in this tight stretch. Inside the vans, we could hear dogs barking. Glances of surprise, incomprehension and of fear.

Without knowing why this string of policemen on foot withdraws after a few minutes. A second string of police vans parked in the way that it blocked the group behind us at the level of the previous perpendicular streets of the avenue. We could hardly distinguish what was happening, the police vans were blocking the view. Roughly there was about 500 to a 1,000 people blocked between the two strings of police vans.

It was obvious the demonstration was cut. In front of us we could hardly distinguish what was happening with the night falling : some demonstrators came back, like the Batucada that supported us to the end, banners in the far seemed to wait for us, the main part of the demonstration continued without being aware of this unexpected interruption by the police.

We stayed in this area for the one big hour. It's pitch black, the Christmas lighting have been turned on a while ago. We chanted several times “Let them go”. The police said we have to continue the demonstration if we want them to lift the barricade, the time for them to neutralise the “violent” elements that had been identified in this part of the march.

On the end, it was about 850 demonstrators that were arrested as a “preventive measure”, as the Danish law authorised. Within 5 metres near, I would have been in it; a part of the ATTAC marchers were apart of it.

A 1-minute video of the moment :

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbh3m5_cop15-mass-arrests-during-global-da_news

This Saturday evening at 9 pm. A support demonstration left the Klimaforum to denounce the police arbitrary and demands the unconditional release of all the people arrested.

Add this Sunday morning

At the Klimaforum, we hear that all the people arrested were released yesterday around 11 pm...

Here was a media operation that enabled to hide the extraordinary mobilisation of the demonstration.

Translation : Rachelle Knöbl, Coorditrad