CJA round-up of mainstream coverage

Reclaim Power Action

Tear gas fired at 'struggling' climate talks, Sky News (top story online), Wednesday 16th December
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Climate-Change-Prime-Minister-Gordon-Brown-Sets-Out-To-Rescue-Foundering-Talks-In-Copenhagen/Article/200912315501340?lpos=World_News_Carousel_Region_0&lid=ARTICLE_15501340_Climate_Change%3A_Prime_Minister_Gordon_Brown_Sets_Out_To_Rescue_Foundering_Talks_In_Copenhagen_
But protestors have accused the United Nations of ignoring the interests of those worst hit by climate change.Police have fired tear gas and arrested more than 100 angry activists who tried to march on the venue of the conference claiming they intended to break through a police cordon.

Police fire tear gas and arrest protestors who try to breach Copenhagen summit, The Times (front page top story online), Wednesday 16th December
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article6958680.ece
The police were also using plain-clothed officers to infiltrate the protests. As the congress venue came into view, a group of about five security officers who had been marching with one authorised rally suddenly grabbed one of the demonstrators and rushed him to a police van in what they are calling a "targeted arrest" strategy.

Danish police arrest 150 activists as world leaders arrive in Copenhagen, Wednesday 16th December
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/16/copenhagen-arrests
At a CJN meeting last night a spokesperson said: "There is definitely going to be an attempt to get in. We must not be intimidated by the police. We must be more numerous than they were expecting."

It's the protestors that offer the best hope for our planet, The Independent (top front page story online), Wednesday 16th December
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-its-the-protesters-who-offer-the-best-hope-for-our-planet-1841887.html
I saw a couple in a pantomime cow costume being attacked by the police, who accused them of throwing stones with their hooves.
Our governments are showing their moral bankruptcy - but a genuinely global democratic movement is swelling to make them change course. Mass democratic agitation is the only force that has ever made governments moral before; it will have to do it again.
At the same time, brave young protesters supporting their message will be trying to break in, to express their revulsion at the betrayal of us all going on there. Of course, the parts of the global media that serve the interests of the polluting rich will be keen to shift the story on to "vandals" and "violent protest". There may be a minuscule minority of protesters who behave unacceptably. But in reality, there are two forms of vandalism about to happen in this city. There is the cutting of a few fences as part of an act of mass civil disobedience. It is an attempt to symbolically resist the much bigger act of vandalism - the trashing of our own habitat, by leaders too short-sighted and too money-addled to listen to the science.

Protestors march on Copenhagen summit, BBC News (Top front page story), Wednesday December 16th, 10:30am
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8415307.stm
Hundreds of protesters are marching towards the UN climate summit venue in Copenhagen as ministers begin their discussions there.Activists have been angered by the lack of progress on a new climate deal, and some have said they will try to get into the debating chambers.

Calm start to Copenhagen climate summit march. BBC News, Wednesday December 16th (video story)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/8415619.stm
In fact I witnessed, about twenty minutes ago, a squad of plain clothes police just dive into the side of the march to pick up just one particular protestor that they obviously had their eye on, and they carted him off [transcript]

Copenhagen braces for mass protests, CNN News, Tuesday 15th December (Wednesday 16th updated)
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/europe/12/16/copenhagen.summit.protests/index.html?iref=allsearch
The protests are due to be led by an umbrella group called Climate Justice Action which has called for activists to "take over the conference for one day and transform it into a Peoples Assembly."CJA says that protesters are engaged in "peaceful, nonviolent protest" and accused the police of being "out of control.""The Danish police have used extremely heavy-handed and cruel mass arrest tactics," it said in a statement.

Copenhagen climate summit: protests threaten to disrupt talks, The Daily Telegraph, Wednesday 16th December
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/copenhagen-climate-change-confe/6824114/Copenhagen-climate-summit-protests-threaten-to-disrupt-talks.html
Kamille Hjuler, a spokesman for the group, said extra police squads have been drafted in in an attempt to "silence the protest"."There is less and less hope and more and more willingness to trample over people's civil liberties in order to stop the mass civil disobedience that will take place," she said.

Police crackdown on Christiania Party

Night in the cells, Jamie Potter [blog], Tuesday 15th December 2009
http://jamie-potter.blogspot.com/2009/12/night-in-cells.html
Great personal account:
'The shadows filled with more police bodies and as we questioned why they may have raided the peaceful freetown the police charged at us again. This time they came from all directions, swarming around us'
And with that, the cop told me to wear my backpack on my chest and then strapped the plasticuffs on me, pulling them tight so they dug into my skin. Then I was lead around the corner and dropped to the floor, where I had to sit with my legs apart so others could sit up tight to me.
We sat here, on the cold hard ground for about half an hour in three single file lines. I was losing track of time.

High profile activist arrested

High-profile activist's arrest fuels fears of police crackdown in Copenhagen, The Guardian, Tuesday 15th December
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/dec/15/danish-police-mass-protest-copenhagen
Kevin Smith, an organiser for activist group Climate Camp, said: "It's unbelievable that in a supposed democracy, undercover police are silencing spokespeople that are criticising the climate talks. How far are the Danish authorities prepared to go to stop tomorrow's protest from going ahead?"

Resistance is ripe: agricultural action day

Copenhagen set for agriculture protests, Sideways News, Tuesday 15th December
http://www.sidewaysnews.com/environment-nature/copenhagen-set-agriculture-protests

According to the Climate Justice Action Network, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has failed to question the current models of consumption and production.
Instead of promoting small-scale farming, which the group says makes a positive contribution to the carbon balance of the planet, it claims UNFCCC is focused on agro-fuels and bio-plastics which put pressure on agricultural land

General demonstration coverage

Climate protestors 'treated like wild animals', Morning Star, Sunday 13th December
http://www.morningstaronline.co.uk/index.php/news/content/view/full/84437
A spokesman for the British-based campaign group Climate Action said: "It seems Danish police have a new motto - why just criminalise protesters when you can dehumanise them too?"

Why co-operate with Copenhagen cops?, guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 15th December
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cif-green/2009/dec/15/copenhagen-protests-resisting-compliant-urge
Spirits in the steel holding cages were high and resistance was in the air. Some broke down the doors of their cages, and the large warehouse echoed to caterwauling and chants of "No justice, no peace! Fuck the police!" The police nearly lost control of the situation, being forced to send in riot police and dogs, and it showed what could have been possible if more had resisted.

Eco-Conscious Youths Descend on Copenhagen, Tuesday 15th December
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126091712391692669.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Mark Bergfeld, a 22-year-old student at the University of Essex, was sitting on the ground with a group of friends who had taken a 30-hour bus from England to be here."The leaders at COP15 won't come to any solution and it's up to young people to say they want to fight climate change," he said, using the acronym for the current round of talks.

US media tarnishes message of Copenhagen climate protest, Detroit Free Press [blog], Tuesday 15th December
http://www.freep.com/article/20091214/BLOG39/91214015/1036/ENT01/U.S.-media-tarnishes-message-of-Copenhagen-climate-protest
this is what the majority of the news industry chose to focus on - the brutality of Danish police and the violence of protesters. The resounding message of the day has been completely distorted