Day 3 has continued this strategy - closing down the same highway. Over 210 people were eventually arrested, and the freeway was opened back up just after 3pm. This is basically the strategy - to close down this section of freeway repeatedly until the government capitulates to the demand - which is a serious demand. They’re asking for the 37.5 billion euros (40 billion dollars) a year of fossil fuel subsidies to end.

As civil resistance goes, the longer the protests carry on, the more exponentially expensive it will get for police. They are already short on buses, having to make multiple trips. And it seems they are using a local stadium to process the protesters, rather than a police station. The “ADO Den Haag Stadium," which opened in 2007 is serving as a processing center where protesters are released.

As police become more violent, faith in the state deteriorates, and the movement gets more credible. Already, 14% of the 17 million population support the #A12 blockade, and a full 70% support ending the fossil fuel subsidies. As those 14% move into active support, the protest will become more powerful. Traditionally, divisive campaigns around popular issues draw similar numbers, Suffragettes, Gandhi, MLK, all very unpopular, despite eventually being on the right side of history and making the changes possible.

Reports are in that the police have asked politicians to negotiate.

Already the #A12 protest has been a monumental success. Besides the massive arrests, day 1 also had a 180 piece professional orchestra playing Mozart’s Dies Irae - Day of Judgement - from inside the blockade itself. The sound and video from this is actually quite exceptional in the snippets available around Instagram and Twitter. We’ll look forward to tomorrow’s protest.