Maude Barlow comments on today's march and the arrests in Copenhagen

Reuters reports this evening that, "Tens of thousands of climate activists marched in Copenhagen on Saturday to urge negotiators at UN talks to agree a strong deal to fight global warming in a worldwide Day of Action."

100,000 MARCH

"Estimates of the number of people in the march under chilly sunny skies varied from a police estimate of 25,000 to 100,000 given by organizers, who hope the rallies will put pressure on a summit of 110 world leaders in Copenhagen on Dec. 17-18."

"The main group of activists took a 6 km route out of the city to the Bella Center where negotiators were meeting."

400 ARRESTS

At about 3:30 pm, the Council of Canadians team in Copenhagen witnessed the police attack a large segment of the protest march and begin to arrest approximately 400 people.

MAUDE BARLOW

Maude Barlow comments, "I was in the march that had more 100,000 people demanding climate justice and action. Suddenly, an unprovoked and very military-style police action took place. Hundreds of young people were surrounded by police in riot gear with dogs. They were forced to sit for hours on the cold ground with their hands tied behind their backs. There was no provocation for these arrests. I'm outraged at this treatment of legitimate protesters and the media's distorted reporting of it. If anything, we should be thanking these young people for having the courage to stand up for the kind of world that will help our planet and species survive. It's their future that is in jeopardy and they have more of a right than anyone to be heard."

The Reuters report in the Globe and Mail is at http://theglobeandmail.com/news/world/climate-change/tens-of-thousands-r...?.