Activists March to Davos in Protest of World Economic Forum
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – More than a hundred activists from the "Strike WEF" group marched from Kublis to Davos, on Saturday, in protest of the World Economic Forum (WEF).
Demonstrators were seen marching through Kublis with banners and signs reading 'World Economic Failure, Climate Justice Now' and 'tax the rich' as they made their way to Davos, where the WEF will hold its annual meeting for 2023 from Monday, January 16 until Friday, January 20. "This is a two-day protest against the WEF.
We want to protest against WEF because they caused a lot of today's crises and supposedly they should work out solutions for every crisis caused by them," an activist said.
“We also want to take the protest against the WEF to Davos, Davos is a fortress, there is a huge police and military deployment and protesting there is almost impossible," he added.
According to Strike WEF, the protest event is a march “against the climate crisis and against the increasing injustice in the world.”
Meanwhile, Climate protesters clashed with German police on Saturday in a continuing standoff over the demolition of this German village for the expansion of a coal mine. Greta Thunberg joined the activists in demonstrating at the site, according to Politico.
In chaotic scenes, thousands of protesters confronted a wall of heavily armored police on the perimeter of the village in North Rhine-Westphalia. The demonstrators stormed the police, forcing them back while being sprayed with pepper spray.
Ambulances were treating injured protesters at the site. An organizer from the Extinction Rebellion group said there had been "heavy" confrontations with the police.
Police put the size of the protest, which took place amid high winds and rain, at 8,000 to 10,000 people. But there was no immediate confirmation about the injuries.
Addressing the protest, Thunberg claimed the crowd was 35,000 strong.
The Swedish activist called a deal between the German government and energy company RWE to destroy the village "shameful."
Police had been working to clear activists from the site to make way for the demolition of the village, which has become the epicenter of demonstrations against the Garzweiler coal mine, run by RWE.
Tensions have increased in recent weeks, with the issue being particularly sensitive for Germany's Greens, who have spent years being heavily critical of coal mining but have come under fire for softening their stance since entering the coalition government.
The World Economic Forum’s annual five-day meeting, held under the theme "Cooperation in a Fragmented World", will bring together 2,700 leaders from 130 countries, including 52 heads of state to discuss policies and priorities for the year ahead.
