Climate protesters close off Amsterdam's Rijksmuseum

Climate protesters from the Extinction Rebellion (XR) group on Saturday blockaded Amsterdam's famous Rijksmuseum, prompting the art gallery to close its doors "until further notice."   

XR said the aim of the protest was to force the museum to cease its ties with its main sponsor, the ING bank, which it says helps finance projects that harm the climate.

It said the protest would continue until its demands were met.

A museum spokesman said it closed the site to ensure the safety of visitors, staff and art works in the collection.

"Any action that jeopardizes this is unacceptable," the spokespman told Dutch news agency ANP.

Among the works in the museum's collection is the "Night Watch," one of the best-known paintings of the 17th century master Rembrandt van Rijn.

Yellow protest

Yellow-clad protesters previously chained themselves to the entrance of the museum, lighting yellow torches and preventing people from entering it.

"It's incomprehensible that the Rijksmuseum can allow itself to be financed by ING, the largest financial driver of the climate crisis," an XR spokesman told ANP.

The spokesman said the museum was allowing a major polluter to "hide its face behind famous works of art from Dutch history." 

A spokesman for the bank responded by saying, "If XR has a problem with ING's financing policies, they should turn to us directly and not to the Rijksmuseum. We are always open to dialogue."

XR, which was founded in 2018, is noted for dramatic public actions that it says aim to instill a sense of urgency in decision-makers regarding the warming of the planet.

Its critics say the group often alienates even those people who sympathize with its views because its protests tend to cause considerable disruption.

This article uses material from the dpa news agency.

Edited by: Roshni Majumdar