After 9000 arrests on the A12, XR Netherlands is on the cusp of achieving what many people still believe to be impossible.
XR Netherlands has demanded that the government cut ties with fossil fuels - by ending fossil fuel subsidies, which amount to somewhere between 43-49 billion dollars a year.
   This is the impossible coming to reality. The rebels are now watching carefully what the government does next, while continuing to mobilize and train new people for the movement.
   It is unclear what this means - certainly it’s a moment to celebrate and reflect. Extinction Rebellion’s regenerative culture asks that rebels internalize these moments carefully, and prepare for the next action. There is always more to accomplish, in sister movements, and in the Netherlands.
   The House in the Netherlands plans to examine its options for phasing out fossil fuels. Economists everywhere already consider fossil fuels to be unsustainable especially without subsides by the government.
   The movement in the Netherlands has come a great distance, we covered some history in a previous issue. Essentially, they went from small numbers of people being arrested and fined on the A12, to having their houses raided by the police. Then in May, 1500 arrests, then in September, an every day protest for 27 days, amounting to 9000 arrests, and the results we see today.

    I had a chance to ask Lucas Winnips, spokesperson for XR Netherlands what it was like going from being arrested in your house, to having an unstoppable force on the streets that the government couldn’t even charge anymore due to the piling up paperwork.
Lucas, “Well, at first they thought they had arrested eight weirdos. But then they realized that we were normal people, with families, and community organizing connections. Soon many more people were angered, and the movement grew quickly from there. Support really went through the roof. It helped when influential people, stars and community leaders joined.”