Green campaign group Extinction Rebellion said on Wednesday it plans to expand its protest on the A12 motorway in central The Hague on Saturday to ensure it is the “most disruptive blockade so far”.
The protest will cover “all of The Hague”, ER said in a website statement. The A12 runs for some two kilometres within the city boundaries. Some demonstrators also plan to bring sleeping bags and stay on the highway overnight.
The police have already said they will not intervene to remove the demonstrators as part of their campaign for a new early retirement scheme.
“The police action is not a reason to expand the demonstration,” ER said. “We become more disruptive as long as the government does not take its responsibilities seriously.”
In addition, the police absence is not necessarily positive because they should be there to protect the right to demonstrate, the campaign group said. Last week, the police complaints committee said that the police had used disproportional violence against ER demonstrators twice last year.
