Konekt 17
and is waiting to see what happens… Reading of names picks up again, still bringing the voices of 11 million people into the Bella Center.
19:04 All the lights in the corridor turn off, they are trying to get civil society to leave.
01:33 Members of civil society being run out of different corners of the Bella Center – security is definitely making a sweep. Sitters are clear they aren’t trying to make trouble for security, just trying to make sure their future is secured.
19:23 This update comes in the form of quotes from people sitting-in: “We want a fair, ambitious and legally binding deal. I’m prepared to not leave until we get this” – Ann, China
01:43 No signs of security yet. Live Web Stream is going strong and people are contacting us from all over the world. This is truly incredible. Thank you for all of the support.
“UN security has dragged us to the side just like rich nations have been doing to developing countries ever since these negotiations began. We wanted to show that we will not be pushed aside without our voices being heard and that’s why we tried to stay in a circle, so that the voices of these 11 million people can’t be pushed aside.” – Maryam, Canada “The voices of these 11 million people can’t be ignored. We won’t allow it” – Dominek, Germany
01:44 Spoke too soon. Security showed up, appointed person liaising with them. 01:51 Security ready to crack down. Jeh is giving an impromptu speech, paraphrasing “we have been told by the Secretariat that if we risk arrest, we could jeopardize the ability for ALL of civil society to be involved in coming days. We have come to consensus, despite reservation, that we will take our concerns outside and take it to the streets. We are calling for mass civil disobedience, and solidarity actions around the country. Join us.” Applause!!!
19:30 We’ve confirmed that the one person taken away by security has been released, glad he is safe. Oh, and it turns out that they turned off the lights for Earth Hour, thanks WWF! 19:36 Senator John Kerry just walked by the sit-in, shook the hands of each of the 19 people, and told them “Thank you for your commitment.” I hope Senator Kerry can convince President Obama to show the same sort of leadership when he arrives on Friday. 22:03 About 20 yards from the sit-in, fossil fuel hack is interviewed by Fox news – people riled up by sit-in respond with “boos” and laughter. He’s laughed off the camera. 22:15 During the sit-in we spotted one of our climate heroes here in Copenhagen, Dessima Williams, chairwoman of the AOSIS (small island state negotiating block). We asked her for her reactions on the sit-in, and told us an incredible story! 14 years ago she sat in at this SAME center for 8 days to urge military funding to move towards women focused development. A true hero, and the struggle goes on.
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22:38 Thanks to the support of all of you online, this action is now resonating louder and louder here at the UN Climate Talks and beyond. But we still need your support. The youth at the sit-in are talking with delegates from around the world as they pass by the demonstration. We want to be able to tell these negotiators — many of whom are now coming under immense pressure from rich countries to back down and compromise their very survival — that the world supports them. We know that 19 people at a sit-in isn’t enough — we need your voice too. Can you add your message of support to this post and push it past 100 comments? We’ll repeat those messages to our heroes as they walk by, and remind the countries blocking progress that the world is watching! 23:45 Maryam puts up an incredible personal post about her experience. 00:00 We made it to midnight! The conference center begins to empty out and janitors start tidying up the space. 01:12 Team meeting to figure out plan for night. Things are getting quiet around here, but your comments and tweets are keeping it energetic! 01:25 Security circling corridors. Team has sat back down
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01:54 Over 150 people watching live stream. Thousands of people know what’s going on. Thanks everyone for joining us. Gotta run before I get swept away!
23:45 Maryam blogged: “We just began our seventh hour here in the Bella Centre, sitting-in until world leaders achieve a fair, ambitious, and legally-binding treaty. The past few hours have been incredibly positive as party members, NGO members, and UN observers have come by to meet us and ensure our wellbeing by offering us food, water, and blankets. Members of party delegations have walked by giving us a thumbs up, and several climate A-listers have walked by to shake our hands and congratulate us on our bravery. Some other successes: -Someone made a facebook group called “I will stand up while youth sit down in Copenhagen” -We are the main story on German television -Al Gore sent a message of support -NDP leader Jack Layton came by to say hello to some of the Canadians and international youth sitting-in -John Kerry came by and shook our hands -Head of AOSIS gave us an awesome shout-out On another special note: The amount of civil society that has been allowed into the conference centre has already been restricted significantly. As we come to the high-levels of the negotiations, civil society’s access will be further restricted from 1500 participants to 300. The voice of civil society is being increasingly muted. But the voice must be heard loud and clear: We need a fair, ambitious, and legally binding climate deal now. There is no time to delay.” *For the full blog entry and more first hand accounts of the COP15 United Nations Climate Change Conference, visit http://itsgettinghotinhere.org
GLOBAL ISSUES
18:56 Rumor is that they might be kicking out all of civil society at 7 PM (4 minutes from now). We’ll see what happens.