{"id":4236,"date":"2026-08-05T17:44:53","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/?p=4236"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:55:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T15:55:14","slug":"non-violent-but-resolute","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/en\/2026\/08\/05\/non-violent-but-resolute\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-violent but resolute"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

How do we keep up the fight against fossil fuel subsidies? Why do thousands of people in the Netherlands take to the streets time and time again, despite police violence or intimidation by the prosecution? Non-violently, despite the violence they are sometimes confronted with.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, we\u2019re a nuisance, but we\u2019re fighting for a cause that affects everyone: the climate crisis. And history shows that peaceful citizen action ultimately succeeds. We hope we\u2019re still in time to prevent the worst consequences of the climate crisis.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Jeremy Banx. CartoonStock\u00ae<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

I am one of the 20 people who were held in solitary detention for 30 hours following the protest on the A12 on 4 July. In the cell, there was no toothbrush, no extra blanket and certainly no pen and paper. But there was plenty of time for reflection. I think about what this must be like for my wife, because neither she nor I know how long this will last. I\u2019m thinking about ideas I\u2019m trying to develop for my work. I imagine what I\u2019d like to say to politicians or to the editorial teams of talk shows, if I were given the chance. We\u2019re living in a time that resembles the film \u2018Don\u2019t Look Up!\u2019, and politics and the media seem incapable of discussing it seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We were released without our phones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We support one another<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

After the protest, we meet up outside the cell block. People are waiting for us there who know what this protest has cost us. We can feel it in our own bodies. We briefly discuss the violence we\u2019ve experienced or witnessed, whether from the police or hostile members of the public. They give us coffee, and we\u2019re allowed to borrow a phone. I ring my wife to tell her I\u2019m free again and will be home this evening. I tell her that I heard people in the cells around me being told they were free to go, but that I didn\u2019t dare feel any relief until I was standing outside myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the protest, we keep in touch. We share our experiences and process them together. We realise that this is a lot harder without a phone, without being able to watch the videos that are often circulated after a protest. There are no videos from our part of the protest, as our phones have still been confiscated. There are, however, videos of angry farmers who nearly run over environmental activists with their tractors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back home, we can no longer log into our work systems, nor can we use online banking. More than three weeks later, there\u2019s still no charge and no indication of when we\u2019ll get our phones back. Our lawyer says this is a highly unusual course of events for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We will continue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

By now, the whole of the Netherlands knows why SR and XR are taking to the streets. It\u2019s about billions of euros in subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. That works out at thousands of euros per Dutch person per year. Money that fuels climate change and benefits a very small number of companies, which are consequently delaying their innovations.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Tjerk Oosterkamp plays the trumpet with XR musicians at a roadblock.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

XR has been causing traffic jams in a responsible manner for years. Emergency services are always able to get past without any problems. When we are facilitated by the police \u2013 that is, when they do not intervene with the aim of making our demonstration impossible \u2013 there is significantly less disruption. This is evident from the data, 1<\/a><\/sup> for example on the occasion when the police themselves exercised their right to strike. Measures taken by the mayor, the police and the judiciary against A12 blockades, on the other hand, often lead to more disruption. 2<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are traffic jams every day: because the roads are busy, because of an accident, because of a large concert at the Malieveld, because a military exercise causes a forest fire, because the tarmac has melted, or because a bridge can no longer close due to the heat. And indeed, once every two or three months there is a traffic jam on the A12 near The Hague or Utrecht because people are sitting on the road, or trying to get onto the road, to bring a major issue back into the media spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we get negative press, but increasingly journalists are showing sympathy for our actions and, fortunately, they do not forget to mention what we are demonstrating for. Yet it continues to amaze me that the media seem unable to raise the issue of the stupidity of fossil fuel subsidies of their own accord. Why don\u2019t journalists ask politicians questions about this? The media are happy to make news out of other topics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know that our way of protesting is a fundamental right, and we want to exercise that right for as long as we still can. This fundamental right is laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights. Instead of working to abolish fossil fuel subsidies \u2013 which would free up a huge amount of policy space \u2013 politicians are calling these fundamental rights into question.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once the dust has settled, new A12 blockades are announced on the XR website. How do we find the strength to take part again? How do we muster the courage to join in once more, whilst feeling in our bones just how nerve-wracking it is? We don\u2019t know whether the police will beat us up this time, but we do know that they\u2019ll be there quickly \u2013 or might even already be there \u2013 when we set off. And yet we go. Time and time again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do we keep going? It\u2019s nice, on the way to a protest, to be with people you know are fighting for the same cause as you. People who are determined but whom you also know will remain non-violent. None of the wonderful people in the blockade will physically attack the police. We\u2019ve practised non-violence. If someone gets so angry at a police officer that they\u2019re on the verge of shouting abuse, a fellow XR activist immediately speaks to them about it. That brings a sense of calm at such a tense moment.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Near the A10 in 2024.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

What\u2019s the outcome?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Thanks to previous XR actions on the A12 in The Hague, and the efforts of Rob Jetten\u2019s ministry at the time, we now know that fossil fuel subsidies involve staggering sums of money. Estimates range from 39.7 to 46.4 billion euros. 3<\/a><\/sup> Thanks to the actions on the A12 near Utrecht, fossil fuel subsidies are receiving media attention, at least for a few hours. We\u2019ve noticed that, over the past year, news sites have become increasingly consistent in reporting the purpose of an action. Previously, they mainly echoed the police in The Hague; fortunately, the media are now reporting more and more often what the actions are actually targeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We certainly see a glimmer of hope in the fact that people are increasingly being told in digital media that this is due to climate change: that unprecedented wildfires are spreading northwards, that river levels in the Netherlands are at historic lows, and that the coral in Bonaire has almost disappeared. Sometimes, such reports now include a statement that we must stop emitting CO\u2082. Hopefully, in a few years\u2019 time, every such report will include a call for us to end fossil fuel subsidies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then what? We hope that, thanks to the ongoing campaigns by XR, SR and Fossielvrij, and through growing awareness, more Dutch people will take action. With every tonne of CO\u2082 emitted, the problems increase for everyone, but especially for the most vulnerable people. It is foolish to continue providing subsidies to companies that should be working on sustainable alternatives rather than extracting even more oil and gas from the ground.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tjerk Oosterkamp is a professor of physics in Leiden<\/p>\n

  1. This website, https:\/\/www.via.nl\/nl-NL\/ (subscription required), provides an overview of the traffic situation on various dates. The editorial team has access to specific data.[\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  2. Eyewitness account by police officer Amir Niknam https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/posts\/amirniknam_demonstratierecht-klimaatcrisis-activity-7284830398990221313-u-to[\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li>
  3. https:\/\/nos.nl\/artikel\/2490599-fossiele-sector-krijgt-tussen-39-7-en-46-4-miljard-euro-subsidie-nog-meer-dan-gedacht[\u21a9<\/a>]<\/span><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    How do we keep up the fight against fossil fuel subsidies? Why do thousands of people in the Netherlands take to the streets time and time again, despite police violence or intimidation by the prosecution? Non-violently, despite the violence they are sometimes confronted with. Yes, we\u2019re a nuisance, but we\u2019re fighting for a cause that … Lees verder<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":4216,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":true,"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4236","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-good-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4236"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4246,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4236\/revisions\/4246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scientistrebellion.nl\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}