Indigenous activists storm the climate conference grounds

COP30

Indigenous activists storm the climate conference grounds

A number of security forces are guarding the UN climate conference. However, they did not prevent violent entry by activists. The events raise unpleasant questions.

Numerous indigenous activists and their supporters have invaded the highly secured site of the World Climate Conference in Belém, Brazil. Videos from South American media show how they violently broke open a door and fought with security forces on Tuesday evening (local time).

Instagram videos from several activists showed a large crowd of demonstrators waving flags and protesting in the hallways of the conference center. BBC reporters say they observed UN security personnel shouting at delegates still present to leave the site.

A local journalist who followed what was happening on the site and wanted to remain anonymous for security reasons told a dpa reporter on site that such an escalation had been in the offing for a long time. Environmentalists are being killed again and again in Brazil, “this pain has been around for a long time.” The indigenous people wanted to make a statement with the intrusion.

Thousands of representatives of indigenous communities are also represented at the climate summit in the Amazon region. They campaign against the destruction of their ancestral homeland, for example through the deforestation of the rainforest. There had previously been a march through the city on the health dangers of climate change with around 3,000 participants.

Their organizers expressly distanced themselves from the violent scenes after the end of their demonstration. “The actions that took place after the march do not belong to the organization of the event,” the organization involved explained to 350.org. According to the Brazilian news portal “G1”, two security guards are said to have been injured, and a video shows one security guard bleeding from his forehead.

Videos on social media also showed security forces barricading the area from the inside with tables – but they were unable to prevent the intrusion.

When the security forces finally got the situation back under control, the area was completely evacuated and cordoned off. A number of cleaning staff sat outside the gates in the evening. Normally the guarded tent city, which even has a large tank set up in front of the entrance, is also open overnight because the negotiations sometimes drag on and journalists from all time zones report from the press center.