Climate protesters arrested outside Swiss banks

(Reuters News, 8 Jul 2019) Campaigners are seeking to pressure Swiss banks into halting their financing of fossil fuels.

Environmental activists, seeking to pressure Swiss banks into halting the financing of fossil fuels, blocked entrances to Credit Suisse in Zurich and UBS in Basel on Monday before police intervened and arrested some protesters.

The action, initiated by groups calling for civil disobedience to draw attention to activities that accelerate climate change, halted streetcars and drew onlookers on Zurich's Parade Square as well as its Bahnhofstrasse luxury shopping mile.

Police observed the protesters, who were given the opportunity to leave of their own accord, for more than an hour before moving in, using saws and bolt cutters to remove activists who had chained themselves together or to structures.

"Switzerland does not have coal mines or oil wells, but these activities are financed from here," Frida Kohlmann, a spokeswoman for Collective Climate Justice, a group that helped organise the protest, told Reuters before the arrests.

"Banks have a good image here, and under this squeaky clean image, they are financing dirty business all over the world."

External link

Reuters News, 8 Jul 2019: Climate protesters arrested outside Swiss banks