The protest organizer, Extinction Rebellion, said thousands joined the demonstration in the Hague. Police said 40 of those arrested would be prosecuted for "vandalism."Dutch police arrested over 1500 climate protesters after a climate protest garnered thousands of participants in the Hague, the Netherlands' seat of government.

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The protest was called for by Extinction Rebellion, a group that originated in the UK which uses non-violent albeit disruptive protest methods to raise climate awareness.

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Protesters blocked a section of a motorway, near the base of both the Dutch parliament and the prime minister's offices. Extinction Rebellion said some 7,000 took part.

Police said 40 of the 1579 people arrested would be prosecuted for "vandalism." They added that security had called on protesters to leave, before using water cannons to disperse them.

Some protesters came donning bathing suits, in anticipation of the cannons.

Why are the protesters demonstrating?

The protests were primarily against fossil fuel subsidies.

"Climate change is an unfolding crisis and we know the cause and it's still being subsidized by our government and it needs to stop," protester Anne Kerevers told the French AFP news agency.

Saturday's protest was joined by some Dutch celebrities, including actor Carice van Houten. She is best known for her role as Melisandre in the hit TV series Game of Thrones. Van Houten was reportedly among the thousands arrested.

Aaron Pereira, a spokesman for Extinction Rebellion, told AFP that the numbers of protesters keeps doubling. The group has organized six other protests blocking the same motorway.

"There is broad popular support for real climate action and people are waking up to the fact that the government is actively going against this by subsidizing the fossil fuel industry," Pereira was quoted as saying.

rmt/wd (AFP, dpa)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 28, 2023 05:10 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).