Activist Greta Thunberg demonstrating in Stockholm. Fridays for Future Climate striking.
Greta Thunberg mayhem! Activist among 20 arrested in fiery Denmark protest againts ‘genocide and occupation’ in Palestine.
Credit: Shutterstock, Liv Oeian
Tensions flared outside Maersk’s Copenhagen HQ on Monday, February 24, as 20 protesters, including climate fireball Greta Thunberg, were cuffed for demanding the shipping giant cut ties with Israel’s military supply chain.
The demonstration, which saw activists block the entrance to the global shipping behemoth’s offices, quickly turned chaotic as Danish police moved in with batons and tear gas to break up the crowd, after they refused to budge despite being repeatedly asked to do so.
Thunberg, the 21-year-old face of the ‘Fridays for Future’ movement, didn’t mince her words. “We are here to demand that Maersk must stop all the transportation of weapons and weapon components to Israel,” she declared in a video posted online. She went further, calling for the company to scrap all contracts and investments linked to what she branded ‘genocide and occupation’ in Palestine.
This isn’t Thunberg’s first foray into political protests – while she made her name battling climate change, she’s been increasingly vocal in pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in Gaza.
Maersk hits back
But Maersk isn’t having any of it. The shipping titan insists the cargo in question “does not contain weapons or ammunition”, instead describing it as “military-related equipment” sent under a US-Israel security cooperation programme.
“The cargo has been screened and complies with applicable laws,” a company spokesperson stated, firmly pushing back against claims it is aiding Israel’s military efforts.
Police crackdown
As tensions rose, police initially tried to talk protesters down, but when dialogue fell flat, they opted for force. “It’s private property,” a police spokesperson explained. “We tried using dialogue to get the protesters to leave the area, it’s a private area. And in the end, the dialogue stopped and then we had to use the necessary means to remove the protesters from the area.”
It’s yet another chapter in the ever-growing wave of global protests against Western military support for Israel – and with figures like Thunberg in the mix, this storm is far from over.
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