Youth activists were beaten by police this morning in Copenhagen after they marched out of the Bella Center, shouting “Reclaim power!” and “Climate justice now!”
During the second week of the COP15 talks in Copenhagen, the number of activists allowed to attend the talks has been drastically reduced. By Friday, when President Obama arrives, the number of nongovernmental “observers,” the UN group to which most of the activists belong, will be reduced to just 90.
A mix of frustrated indigenous, youth, and environmental activists walked out of the talks this morning at about 11 a.m. local time. Once outside, the marchers attempted to join a second group of activists organized by the anti-corporate network Climate Justice Action. But before the two groups could join, they met a line of police.
The activists and the police shoved back and forth, and the police beat them with batons. The marchers said throughout the action that they had remained peaceful.
Here’s a quick edit of the footage I captured of the march and beating.
Sara Peach is reporting from Copenhagen thanks to a grant from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.
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