Hundreds of climate protesters blocked a distribution center for Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and an airport for private jets in Belgium on Saturday, the environmental movement Code Red said.
According to Code Red, which opposes fossil fuels and promotes civil disobedience, hundreds of protesters were arrested by police in the action, which was aimed at disrupting the aviation and e-commerce sectors.
“The Code Red movement is organizing its third mass civil disobedience event in our country. This time it is the aviation sector that is being targeted. The action will take place in two locations,” says a press release from the movement.
“In Liège, 600 activists block (the traffic of the Chinese online trading platform) Alibaba. In Antwerp, where around forty activists are still present, private jet traffic is paralyzed despite the arrest of more than 700 activists,” the text adds.
“With these measures, Code Red calls for, among other things, an end to air transport subsidies, a ban on private jets and affordable public transport,” he continues.
“Liège Airport is the fastest growing airport in Europe,” Code Rouge’s Louis Droussin is quoted as saying in the press release. “Millions of euros in public money support this expansion, which comes at the expense of hundreds of hectares of agricultural land.”
“In the case of Alibaba, more trucks and planes full of substandard goods are causing more sleepless nights for locals. “It’s just unfair,” he added.
An AFP journalist at Antwerp airport saw police use tear gas and arrest protesters in white overalls as they tried to enter the site.
Chinese giant Alibaba opened its 30,000 square meter European distribution center in Liège in 2021.
published December 16 at 6:43 p.m., AFP
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