Following three days of demonstrations in the Dutch capital, a large group of Extinction Rebellion activists have caused significant disruption on Monday morning during a protest at the Europaboulevard - De Boelelaan intersection in Amsterdam. 

Four days of Extinction Rebellion demonstrations

The activists were part of the global environment movement Extinction Rebellion, which aims to use nonviolent civil disobedience to highlight the importance of the global climate and urge governments to take action against climate change. On Thursday, September 17, the group announced plans for demonstrations in Amsterdam from September 18 to September 20. 

On September 17, the local municipality stated that activists could not block buildings or roads, and set a number of restrictions on demonstrations. They also urged activists to adhere to coronavirus measures.

On Friday, September 18, activists blocked the Beethovenstraat - Gustav Mahlerlaan intersection in Amsterdam south. On Saturday, the protesters moved to Museumplein before travelling up into the city centre and blocking the Blauwbrug. 

Arrests made at Amsterdam C&A

On Sunday, activists returned to Museumplein, and a number were arrested following a demonstration outside the clothing store C&A near Dam Square. A spokesperson for the group told local news outlet AT5 that six protesters had glued themselves to the store with superglue. 

According to Extinction Rebellion, the demonstration was organised to highlight the use of Uyghur forced labour in China - something the clothing brand supposedly makes use of. Two people were arrested for vandalism after writing “Free the Uyghurs” (Bevrijd de Oeigoeren) on the shop windows, and four were arrested for trespassing. 

Roadblocks and rush hour traffic jams

On Monday morning at around 7:30 am, some 250 Extinction Rebellion activists gathered at the Europaboulevard - De Boelelaan intersection in Amsterdam and blocked the roads. This caused a number of traffic jams due to the morning rush hour. 

GVB busses arrived at 8:30am to help the police “administratively relocate” the protesters, however, clearing the intersection has taken a considerable amount of time as a number of activists had chained themselves up or glued themselves to the street to prevent them from being removed. As of 10am, the police were still attempting to remove the last of the protesters from the intersection.