“We demand that the next government sign a legally binding treaty to phase out fossil fuels by 2030,” the group said in a statement. It added that the paint is made from cornmeal and will wash off with rain. It identified the two protesters as Niamh Lynch, 21, and Rajan Naidu, 73.
Local Police Said Authorities arrested the two following the incident.
English Heritage, the charity that looks after Stonehenge, said the site was open to the public. “Obviously this is extremely tragic and our caretakers are assessing the extent of the damage,” it said. Social media.
Get caught up in
Stories to keep you up to date
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Tweeted After the incident, Just Stop Oil called it a “shameful act”. Opposition Leader Keir Starmer was also critical, post “The damage caused to Stonehenge is enormous,” he said, “and those responsible must face the full force of the law.”
There have been a number of protests over historical monuments and artworks in recent years, with activists splattering artworks such as the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s Sunflowers with paint, soup and other liquids.” It drew attention to issues such as the climate crisis and prompted calls from museums for an end to the international protests.
But this week’s incidents seem to be “a bit of an escalation,” said Shannon Gibson, a professor who studies global environmental policy and social movements at the University of Southern California. While previous incidents at museums have only left superficial damage to the protective coverings of artworks and historic buildings, the Stonehenge protesters smeared paint directly onto the famous UNESCO World Heritage site. world heritage.
Critics say such protests alienate potential supporters of the climate justice movement and only serve as spectacle rather than effecting change.
But Gibson said protests should be a spectacle, and protests at places like museums and historical sites have an impact on the individual. People who might be protected from the effects of climate change.
“They don’t need to protest on islands or on coasts or in the Arctic. They understand it, they know it, they live it,” she said. “This is saying to the people who hold the money, who make the decisions, who control the fossil fuels, ‘This affects you, too.'”
Gibson said these protests, which target ancient monuments that people believe will “never change,” It’s a contrast between what has stood the test of time and what will not stand if we don’t solve the climate crisis.”
Stonehenge’s unique stone circle 2500 B.C. To align with the movement of the sun, thousands of people gather on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, to watch the sun rise through gaps in the outer stone ring.
UNESCO, site It is known as “the most architecturally sophisticated prehistoric stone circle in the world”.