If you’re in, you’re in, if you’re out, you’re out

People from inside the Bella Centre cannot join in the protest. Credit: vanwaardenphoto.com

The controls at COP15 process are becoming ever more evident and frantic as civil society organisations and those who tried to join protests get their accreditation revoked. Intense footage has traveled round the Internet of police just inside Bella Centre violently pushing back 200 accredited delegates trying to get out of the conference venue and join the Reclaim Power protest outside.

Delegates from Friends of the Earth, Avaaz, Tck Tck Tck (fluffiest campaign in the world), La Via Campesina, and more, faced a surprise this morning at the entrance to the Bella Centre. The organisers had previously told NGOs that due to massive overbooking, the number of delegates per organisation would be reduced. Now they were telling them that all of their delegates’ permits had been revoked. Friends of the Earth staged an impromptu sit in in the entrance hall. [video interview with FoE chair | FoE press release]

At the same time, inside the talks, a crowd of 200 people started forming and chanting “Climate Justice!” The delegates of Bolivia, indigenous peoples, NGO representatives including members of Climate Justice Now! network, and youth delegations loudly marched out of the talks and attempted to join the Reclaim Power protest outside, but were met by lines of police in riot gear. They chanted “We are peaceful – what are you?” and held up their hands while being beaten with batons [photos 1 | 2 | 3 | blogs 1 | 2]

The 200 were threatened with arrest if they did break out and join the protest, and were not allowed back into the talks. In fact no NGO representatives were allowed in the talks for the rest of the day, only 1000 will be allowed in tomorrow, and only 90 on Friday [source]. Reportedly, press and government delegates were threatened that their permits would be revoked if they spoke to any organisations barred from the talks.

The lines of riot police have now very physically shown to the world the somewhat arbitrary lines of exclusiondrawn by the COP15 process: the legitimate from the illegitimate and the important from the unimportant.

original article: http://indymedia.dk/articles/1893