Climate activists inside the UN Climate Change summit in Copenhagen staged a sit-in on Wednesday accusing officials of expelling Friends of the Earth members who had been accredited to attend the conference. The sit-in was held outside the security area because they were not being allowed into the conference by officials. Dozens sat down and refused to move, holding up their accreditation passes to prove they had been given permission to be there. Jose Bove, a Member of the European Parliament for the European Green Party, described the treatment of the group as "a scandal".
"People now try to expel me because I was protesting about the fact that Friends of the Earth has been put out," he told reporters. UN Climate Chief Yvo de Boer was amongst those trying to pacify the crowd.
"I am willing to have a reasonable conversation with you as I have always done in the past 3 years that you've known me. But if you start insulting me, abusing me and shouting at me then I'm not interested," he urged the protesters. Outside the suburban conference centre protests also continued on Wednesday, with Danish police using tear gas and batons to disperse crowds of people trying to disrupt the talks.
A police spokesman said 230 protesters had been detained in the clashes.
Protesters said they wanted to take over the global conference - and turn it into a "people's assembly."
Meanwhile, delegates at the 193-nation conference are deadlocked in talks on a deal to curb global warming. Negotiators worked through the night into Wednesday morning but failed to resolve major disputes as world leaders began arriving in hopes of signing a deal by Friday.