Copenhagen Conflict Escalates as Bella Center Lockdown Continues

Being hailed as the largest gathering of environmental activists, the COP15 summit in Copenhagen has spawned two weeks of demonstrations, protests, and actions. Tensions between police and protesters hit a peak after thousands of protesters attempted to infiltrate the heavily fortified negotiation center by crossing a moat with a makeshift inflatable bridge. The Danish police repelled this and other actions by using emergency powers granted to them by the Danish government and a number of controversial methods.

The first of which, ketteling, involves the stopping protesters at checkpoints for involuntary searches, name-taking, and photographing. The Danish police are allowed to immediately detain protesters in holding cells on the outskirts of town without formal charges. The Danes have used this to disjoint activist efforts to organize large demonstrations and to separate extremists from the general population. Activists groups say that police are specifically detaining leaders of activist movements. Climate Justice Action spokesman, Tadzio Mueller, was formally arrested by the Danish police and charged with attempted violence against police and inciting riotous behavior. His trial will not be public, which Politiken speculates is to avoid international criticism for the use of wire taps.

Police have also used tear gas, attack dogs, pepper spray, and traditional riot gear to deter protesters. Thousands have been detained at least once during the two-week conference, and hundreds have been arrested — specifically during the Bella Center infiltration attempt that put the venue into lockdown. The protesters are being detained in abandoned warehouses and gyms outside of Copenhagen inside of rows of makeshift cages. While waiting for the buses that transport them there, activists are forced to sit on the ground in freezing conditions, hands bound. Without access to a toilet, activists have been forced to urinate on themselves both on the street and in the cages.

Last night, a bomb threat closed down all public transportation as police attempted to clear thousands of activists from the street one-by-one, sometimes with a baton. To clear protesters near the Bella Center, the Danish police used a water cannon on protesters in the sub-freezing weather.

Currently, Venezuela, Guatemala, and India have promised to walk out of the discussions on the pivotal last day. Venezuela's president, Hugo Chavez, saluted the anti-capitalism message presented by many protesters and encouraged further action. "I have been reading some of the slogans painted in the streets… One said, ‘Don’t Change the Climate, Change the System!’ And I bring that on board for us. Let’s not change the climate. Let’s change the system! And as a consequence, we will begin to save the planet. Capitalism is a destructive development model that is putting an end to life, that threatens to put a definitive end to the human species."