LONDON: Activist Greta Thunberg defied police orders to move during a climate demonstration, prosecutors told a London court on Thursday, on the first day of her two-day trial for public order offenses.
Westminster Magistrates’ Court in central London heard that police gave the 21-year-old Swedish campaigner a “final warning” to move from outside the entrance of the London hotel hosting the Energy Intelligence Forum in October.
Prosecutor Luke Staton told court: “She said that she was staying where she was and so she was arrested.”
Thunberg, who faces a maximum fine of £2,500 ($3,177), was taken away by two police officers and put into the back of a van outside after she joined the mass protest.
She was one of dozens of climate activists arrested for disrupting access to the conference, which brought together major oil and gas companies at a luxury hotel in the British capital on October 17.
Demonstrators greeted the forum participants with cries of “Shame on you!” while carrying placards reading “Stop Rosebank,” a reference to a controversial new North Sea oil field that the government authorized in September.
Police arrested Thunberg for failing to adhere to an order not to block the street where the rally was taking place, with Staton telling court that people were unable to get into the hotel.
She was released on bail but then took part in another demonstration in front of the five-star hotel the next day, along with hundreds of other people.
Thunberg, a global figure in the fight against climate change, pleaded not guilty to the charges at an initial hearing in November, as did four other activists who are her co-defendants.
They were among dozens of activists arrested for disrupting access to the conference.
Supporters were already gathered outside court on Thursday when Thunberg arrived around an hour before the 10:00 am (1000 GMT) start of her trial.
They held large yellow signs reading “fossil free London” and “climate protest is not a crime” as Thunberg, wearing a grey coat, and her fellow defendants made their way through the throng.
Maja Darlington, campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said the activists were on trial “for peacefully protesting” while oil executives were “celebrating making billions from selling climate-wrecking fossil fuels.”
“The prosecution of Greta and other peaceful protesters reflects a government that cares more about bolstering the profits of oil bosses than fighting for a liveable future for all of us,” she added.
The Conservative government’s reversals on its pledges to combat climate change have angered campaigners.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has postponed a ban on the sale of petrol and diesel cars and announced plans to grant new licenses to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea.
The British electorate, which votes in a general election this year, is facing an inflation-fueled cost-of-living crisis.
On Monday, the UK’s independent advisory body on climate strategy expressed concern that the government was sending out “mixed messages” that were tarnishing its international influence on the issue.
Thunberg, who came to worldwide attention as a 15-year-old by staging school strikes in her native Sweden, regularly takes part in such demonstrations.
She was fined in October for blocking the port of Malmo in Sweden, a few months after being forcibly removed by police during a demonstration against the use of coal in Germany.
She also joined a march last weekend in southern England to protest against the expansion of Farnborough airport, which is mainly used by private jets.
Climate activist Greta Thunberg defied police at protest, court hears
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Climate activist Greta Thunberg defied police at protest, court hears
- Prosecutor Luke Staton told court: “She said that she was staying where she was and so she was arrested”
- Thunberg, a global figure in the fight against climate change, pleaded not guilty to the charges
US officials say Gaza stabilization force will not fight Hamas
- An American two-star general is under consideration to lead the ISF, but no decision has been made, officials said
NEW YORK: International troops could be deployed in the Gaza Strip as early as next month to form a UN-authorized stabilization force, two US officials said, but it remains unclear how Hamas will be disarmed.
Officials said the International Stabilization Force, or ISF, would not fight Hamas.
They said many countries have expressed interest in contributing, and US officials are currently working out the size of the ISF, its composition, housing, training, and rules of engagement.
There is a lot of quiet planning that’s going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal.
Karoline Leavitt, White House spokesperson
An American two-star general is under consideration to lead the ISF, but no decision has been made, officials said.
Deployment of the force is a key part of the next phase of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
Under the first phase, a fragile ceasefire in the two-year war began on Oct.10, and Hamas released hostages, and Israel freed detained Palestinians.
“There is a lot of quiet planning that’s going on behind the scenes right now for phase two of the peace deal,” White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said.
“We want to ensure an enduring and lasting peace.”
Indonesia has said it is prepared to deploy up to 20,000 troops to take on health and construction-related tasks in Gaza.
“It is still in the planning and preparation stages,” said Rico Sirait, spokesperson of the Indonesian Defense Ministry.
“We are now preparing the organizational structure of the forces to be deployed.”
Israel still controls 53 percent of Gaza, while nearly all the 2 million people in the enclave live in the remaining Hamas-held area. The plan — which needs to be finalized by the so-called Board of Peace — is for the ISF to deploy in the area held by Israel, the US officials said.
Then, according to the Trump peace plan, as the ISF establishes control and stability, Israeli troops will gradually withdraw “based on standards, milestones, and timeframes linked to demilitarization.”
A UN Security Council resolution adopted on Nov. 17 authorized a Board of Peace and countries working with it to establish the ISF.
Trump said on Wednesday that an announcement on which world leaders will serve on the Board of Peace will be made early next year.
The Security Council authorized the ISF to work alongside newly trained and vetted Palestinian police to stabilize security “by ensuring the process of demilitarizing the Gaza Strip, including the destruction and prevention of rebuilding of the military, terror, and offensive infrastructure, as well as the permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups.”
However, it remains unclear exactly how that would work.
US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz noted on Thursday that the Security Council authorized the ISF to demilitarize Gaza by all means necessary, which means the use of force.
“Obviously, that’ll be a conversation with each country,” he told Israel’s Channel 12, adding that discussions on rules of engagement were underway.
Hamas has said the issue of disarmament has not been discussed with them formally by the mediators — the US, Egypt, and Qatar — and the group’s stance remains that it will not disarm until a Palestinian state is established.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a speech on Sunday that the second phase would move toward demilitarization and disarmament.
“Now that raises a question: Our friends in America want to try and establish a multinational task force to do the job,” he said. “I told them I welcome it. Are volunteers here? Be my guest,” Netanyahu said.
“We know there are certain tasks that this force can perform ... but some things are beyond their abilities, and perhaps the main thing is beyond their abilities, but we will see about that,” he said.
