2023-12-11 08:00:00
“We will communicate at the appropriate time but it is time to push the fossil era towards the end and build together a viable and socially just future,” explains the civil disobedience movement on its website. “We fear a commando operation with the intrusion of several small groups on one of the runways of an airport,” worries Christian Delcourt, spokesperson for Liege Airport. Such an operation, with planes landing or taking off, would endanger the very lives of the demonstrators. We absolutely want to avoid the slightest incident.” On the Bierset side, we recognize that it is almost impossible to control the kilometers of fence which surround the tarmac of the Liège airport. The concern is similar at Brussels airport where Code Red intentions have been known “for weeks”.
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“We have prepared different scenarios and specific measures have been put in place in collaboration with the Federal Police,” explains spokesperson Nathalie Pierard. “Everyone has the right to express their opinion and we have nothing against protest marches, like the one that took place peacefully in mid-November. But here the intentions seem different. There are fears for the safety of staff, demonstrators and passengers. There is also a risk that airport infrastructure could be damaged and operations disrupted.”
“Dismantling fossil infrastructure”
Code Red nevertheless affirms it: the activists do not seek “to cause irreversible damage to equipment or infrastructure”. “Our actions will not put anyone in danger and will respect the physical integrity of each person”, affirms the organization whose goal however remains that “fossil infrastructure is dismantled”. When we read the instructions given to future participants in these civil disobedience actions, we understand, however, that the activists expect to be confronted by the police. Organizers warn that volunteer activists must be prepared to be arrested. They are advised to wear a hat and glasses to remain anonymous, to bring a small emergency kit for minor injuries, to avoid taking “anything that could reveal information about them”, such as private telephones. Contact lenses and makeup should also be avoided “in case the police use tear gas or pepper bombs”, as well as jewelry “which could be annoying” in the event of contact with the police. On the other hand, the activists must equip themselves with “extra-strong, quick-drying superglue and glitter”, undoubtedly to stick to the ground and prevent their evacuation by the police.
A diverse group of “grandparents and young people for the climate”
But who is behind this organization which is about to launch its third operation in our country, after those of the blocking of the TotalEnergies sites in Feluy and Wandre last year, as well as several Belgian Engie infrastructures this summer? Code Red was founded last year by “a diverse group of climate grandparents and youth, civic movements, action groups and climate movement NGOs” It is thus supported by a twenty organizations, including Greenpeace, Rebellion Extinction, Stop Alibaba and Entraides et Fraternité. “By deliberately breaking the laws, we are part of a long history of social struggles,” the activists justify. Legitimate resistance opposes the power of companies that put the profit of their shareholders before people and living things.” The group seems very well organized, with even lawyers giving the steps to follow in the event of arrest. Across Europe, activists have targeted airports by entering runways, as was the case in Paris Bourget or Amsterdam, for example. In Belgium, this would be a first. “The fashion is for aviation bashing,” notes Christian Delcourt, who does not exclude that Code Rouge takes the authorities by surprise by bringing forward their action by a few days.
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