Protest in Great Britain Climate activists spray Stonehenge with paint

dpa

20.6.2024 - 09:31

Demonstrators from "Just Stop Oil" sit in front of the stone monument Stonehenge, which they have previously sprayed with orange paint.
Demonstrators from "Just Stop Oil" sit in front of the stone monument Stonehenge, which they have previously sprayed with orange paint.
Just Stop Oil/PA Media/dpa

The stone circle is one of England's most famous landmarks. A day before the solstice celebrations, a protest took place there.

DPA

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  • Representatives of the Just Stop Oil group have sprayed an orange substance on the Stonehenge monument in the UK.
  • The aim is to persuade the British government to phase out fossil fuels.
  • Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the protest action as vandalism.

In the UK, climate protesters have sprayed the Stonehenge monument with an orange-colored substance. The Just Stop Oil group published a video on the X platform showing two people running towards the stone circle and spraying paint. The police arrested two suspects.

The protest group wrote that they were demanding that the next British government sign a binding agreement to phase out fossil fuels by 2030. In the background of the video, people can be heard shouting for the protesters to stop. Some also try to stop them.

"We have arrested two people following an incident at Stonehenge this afternoon," Wiltshire Police said. They were suspected of damaging the monument. The investigation is ongoing.

Paint is easy to wash off

The Stonehenge stone circle is one of Britain's most famous landmarks. The stones are precisely aligned with the position of the sun at the summer and winter solstices. It is believed that these events have been celebrated there for thousands of years. The summer solstice is to be celebrated there on Thursday.

The protest group wrote on X that the paint was made of cornstarch and would be washed away by the rain, while it remained urgent for the government to do something about the catastrophic consequences of the climate and environmental crisis. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak condemned the protest action as vandalism.


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