One hundred and nine environmentalists who took part in a climate protection protest were arrested in Australia as they took part in a kayak blockade of the port from which the country’s largest coal exports are made after the deadline given to end the protest had passed, police said today.
A flotilla of dozens of kayaks blockaded Newcastle harbor on Australia’s east coast over the weekend, demanding the prime minister’s government end fossil fuel exports on which the country is heavily dependent.
The authorities had given their permission for this mobilization to take place for thirty hours. After the police boat passed, they approached the protesters, but they refused to leave.
Pastor Alan Stewart, 97, was among the 109 people arrested.
He explained that he was there to help prevent climate catastrophe “for his grandchildren and future generations.” “I think it is my duty to do what I can and to raise my stature for what I consider right,” he added, as broadcast by international agencies and relayed by the Athens Agency.
“We chose to risk arrest because scientists are warning that to avoid catastrophic climate collapse we must urgently eliminate the burning of fossil fuels,” said environmental group Rising Tide, which organized the blockade.
The New South Wales Police announced that five minors were also among those arrested. He did not specify their ages.
Australian states have in recent years passed draconian laws targeting climate protests, which have been condemned by human rights NGOs and independent United Nations researchers.
Late last year, activist Diana Koko was sentenced to 15 months in prison and jailed for stopping traffic on a bridge in Sydney Harbour. She was released on bail ten days later, before her sentence was overturned by an appeals court.
Australia is among the countries with the largest coal production in the world. The Labor government under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has approved the construction of new coal mines and the exploitation of oil and gas fields.
Source: News Beast
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