Global green protests to mark Bali parley
LONDON (AFP) - Demonstrators took to the streets Saturday to press world leaders to act over climate change, in an internationally coordinated protest marking the UN environment conference in Bali.Organizers said more than 10,000 people rallied in London, while demos were also reported in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, Turkey, and the Indonesian island of Bali itself among other places.
"We feel that dealing with this threat should be the number one priority of the British government, a priority for all areas of policy," said a letter handed to Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
Police put the number of demonstrators at 2,000 in London, where they marched through the capital amid a steady drizzle before gathering outside the US embassy.
In Germany some 10,000 gathered, again according to organizers, before a symbolic blackout, with people urged to switch off lights for five minutes from 1900 GMT in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
The blackout was planned to plunge historic monuments including the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and Cologne Cathedral into darkness. Some 5,000 people joined the rally in the German capital, while protests were also held in Munich, Nuremberg, Freiburg and Saarbruecken.
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"It is a strong signal of a new movement to protect the climate," said Dirk Jansen of the German green group BUND.
In Bali itself about 500 activists carrying effigies and banners marched, with protestors coming from as far as Europe, South Korea and Bangladesh to lobby the UN climate talks.
"Stop Climate Chaos," "Rich countries must pay" and "Bush: Killer of the planet," read banners carried by demonstrators in Bali's main town of Denpasar.
Nearby on Bali's resort enclave of Nusa Dua, delegates from some 188 nations were trying to lay out a framework for a new deal on tackling global warming when the current agreement expires in 2012.
Elsewhere about 1,000 protestors were reported in Istanbul urging the Turkish government to sign the Kyoto protocol on climate change and renounce plans to build nuclear power plans, recently approved by parliament.
In Athens more than 1,000 protestors gathered in the main Syntagma Square, while demonstrations were also organized in the northern city of Salonika and other towns.
In Madrid only about 50 protestors gathered in the city centre, carrying banners including "Change of lifestyle, not climate."
In Moscow the event was less successful: police in the Russian capital prevented about 10 protestors on bicycles from gathering, saying their demonstration was not authorised, the Ria Novosti news agency reported.
According to a police estimate, about 3,000 people participated in a march in Brussels against climate change organised by Coalition Climat, a movement made up of about 70 associations.
