During the protest, activists blocked a section of highway on the afternoon of May 27 (local time) to protest against the Netherlands' fossil fuel subsidy policy, according to The Guardian .
Police said they used water cannon to disperse activists blocking a major road in the city of The Hague and arrested "a total of 1,579 people" and "40 of them will be prosecuted" on charges including vandalism.
Extinction Rebellion activists block a major road as riot police use water cannon to disperse them in The Hague on May 27.
Police said one of the activists bit a police officer while he was being arrested. According to Extinction Rebellion, 7,000 people gathered for the protest.
Anticipating the water cannons, some protesters wore swimsuits or carried umbrellas as they sat protesting on the highway.
Police also said they had repeatedly "given activists opportunities to end their actions and leave" before using water cannon and making arrests.
This is the seventh time Extinction Rebellion has held a protest on the same stretch of highway in The Hague, near the parliament and government buildings.
However, May 27 saw the highest number of arrests in a single protest ever, according to The Guardian , citing figures from the Dutch news agency ANP.
"We will stay here until they take us away. Climate change is an ongoing crisis and we know the cause and it is still subsidized by our government ," AFP quoted Anne Kerevers (31 years old), a protester.
"We come back every month or two and every time we come back, the numbers have doubled," said Extinction Rebellion spokesman Aaron Pereira. "There is widespread popular support for real climate action and people are waking up to the fact that the government is actively working against this by subsidizing the fossil fuel industry."
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