Climate activists demolished a bridge in the center of Basel, Switzerland, on Friday to prevent oil tankers and other ships from traveling along the Rhine, one of the key commercial lanes in Europe.
Around 6:00 am (0400 GMT), a group of twelve activists assembled at the Dreirosen Bridge in the city of northern Switzerland to obstruct traffic on the Rhine, through which, according to reports, about a third of Swiss oil imports pass.
A banner reading “Freedom of movement for people rather than for oil tankers” was strung up by five of them as they descended from the bridge.
Another featured the phrase “Colonial” and a drawing of a stop sign.
The traffic had been stopped “until further notice” and about a dozen vessels were still blocked by mid-morning, Basel police told AFP.
A police official told AFP, “We are in close contact with the people involved in the operation.”
Our first concern is to make sure that none of the participants are hurt, he continued.
The Collective Climate Justice activists were participating in a neighboring “No Borders” climate camp that was allowed to set up camp next to the bridge.
The Collective shared overhead photos of the protesters hung beneath the bridge after “over six hours” on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, without specifying how long the action would last.
Lots of cheerleaders on the bridge and in boats. The climbers are receiving ice cream,” it declared.
The protest is the most recent in a string of disruptive activities by climate activists in Switzerland, some of which have involved participants adhering their hands to the ground to obstruct traffic on busy motorways.
The Locarno film festival was also disrupted this week by two activists from the group Renovate Switzerland who stuck to the stage during an awards ceremony so they could speak to the crowd.
The populist right-wing Swiss People’s Party, Switzerland’s largest political party, has labeled the non-violent campaigners as “climate terrorists” in response to these acts, which have sparked some public outrage.
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