On Wed, December 16, 2009, at 8:45 a.m., Jamie Henn, itsgettinghotinhere.org,
Admittedly, I'm not the world's best photo journalist ... here's an early update on the Reclaim Power action going down right now at the Bella Center.
http://itsgettinghotinhere.
A crowd of youth, activists, indigenous peoples, and perhaps some delegates, burst in chants of “Climate Justice Now!” and “Reclaim Power!” in the middle of the Bella Center where the Copenhagen Climate Talks are being held. Instantly surrounded by cameras and media, the group began a march out of the center towards the gates of the building where as many as 10,000 people are planning to meet them in what organizers are calling the Reclaim Power action.
The BBC is reporting that hundreds of people have already been arrested this morning as thousands more march on the Bella Center. It will be a challenge for them to get very close to the negotiations. As Adrian Wilson reports, security is tight around the conference venue with chain link fences, concrete walls, and hundreds of police and what looked like Danish military blocking the roadways — someone with me in line this morning reported seeing a water cannon going by.
More photos are below the fold.
The action may receive a good deal of sympathy from even the most mainstream civil society groups here at the talks. The UN has severely restricted the number of NGO representatives able to access the negotiations over the next few days. Yesterday, NGOs were allocated the “secondary badges” now necessary for entry for only about 20% of their participants. Tomorrow, the UN will only allow 1,000 civil society representatives into the talks. On Friday, only 90 were going to be allowed in, but representatives from the Climate Action Network and others argued security back up to 500.
Keep checking IGHIH for more updates as this action evolves and marches attempt to open up the highly guarded Bella Center to the outside world.
Link: http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2009/12/16/reclaim-power-action-begins-inside-copenhagen-climate-talks/
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