Activists break into building site of Microsoft datacentre in Amsterdam

Activists from Geef Tegengas, a Dutch direct action group, broke into a construction site for a Microsoft datacentre at Westpoort in Amsterdam, police and organisers said. Some members climbed a crane, lit flares and tied helium balloons to equipment, the Guardian reported. Protesters hung banners objecting to Microsoft's services to the Israeli military and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Police told the Dutch public broadcaster NOS: "The police attempted to prevent [the occupation] and arrest protesters, but were unable to prevent it and force was used." An officer was slightly injured. Protesters from both groups said police used force and teargas. Organisers and local media reported hundreds of protesters on each side of the fence.

The action was separate from the pan-European "Stop Dirty Data Centres" campaign, which targeted the same site. Affiliated members of that campaign stayed outside the perimeter fence. The coalition, which includes national branches of Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth, said it had not coordinated or promoted the Dutch direct action. It said it was "understandable" that communities would turn to a range of tactics when unable to meaningfully take part in decisions. Owen Espley, the campaign coordinator, said: "Big tech and government are racing ahead with large-scale datacentre development despite significant public concern about the impacts on local communities, natural resources and other industries."

Smaller protests took place in Bristol, UK, at a datacentre in Berlin, outside the Polish parliament in Warsaw, and in Zagreb, Croatia. Further protests were expected on Saturday. The Guardian reported that more than 100 groups took part in the two-day series of protests across Europe, demanding moratoria on new datacentre construction.

Roos Molenaar, an activist from Geef Tegengas, said: "This datacentre is gulping up our drinking water to make the rich even richer."

A Microsoft spokesperson said the company was aware of the demonstration and that its first concern was the wellbeing of everyone at and around the site. The spokesperson said Microsoft respects people's right to protest peacefully but does not condone unlawful actions or actions that put safety at risk. A spokesperson for Pure Data Centres, the site owner, said entering a live construction site was unlawful and dangerous, and asked those on site to leave safely and engage in dialogue.