Traffic disruption in the Hofstad?
If you have to drive to or from The Hague via the A12 this weekend, you will probably experience delays. Climate activists want to sit on the A12 from Saturday and say they will now do so every day for an indefinite period.
Earlier this year there were already blockages on the A12 near The Hague by climate activists and from Saturday it happened again. Action group Extinction Rebellion (XR) plans to block the section of the A12 that runs through The Hague again from Saturday, this time daily and indefinitely. The activists demand that the government put an end to all fossil subsidies, because they encourage the use of fossil fuels and thus contribute to climate change.
Mayor Jan van Zanen does not want to allow the proposed blockade. He finds this form of protest ‘worrisome and unacceptable’. According to the demonstrators themselves, it is a logical place. Both the temporary House of Representatives and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate are located right next to the road. A little further on, on the Avenue of Reagan and Gorbachev, a ‘support demonstration’ will also be held on Sunday. Unlike the A12 blockade itself, it is simply permitted.
The chance that the activists will remain on the A12 for long is small. Indeed, action may be taken against these blockages. Berend Roorda, associate professor of demonstration law at the University of Groningen, updated the House of Representatives this week about the rights of demonstrators. Blocking the A12 at least partly ignores those rights. According to him, a mayor may indicate that the road may not be blocked “because of the health of others or because of the fear of disorder or because of traffic interests. Although there is discussion about the latter about the extent to which this may constitute a ground for restriction,” according to Roorda. He points out that demonstrators must obey the law. “And if they don’t, action can be taken against that too.”
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl