A pair of environmental protesters in Britain on Thursday glued themselves
to the frame of a Vincent van Gogh painting on display at a London
art gallery.
اضافة اعلان
The stunt, the latest direct action demonstration by climate change
activists, saw the duo from the "Just Stop Oil" group glue their
fingers to the Dutch master's "Peach Trees in Blossom".
The oil on canvas work painted in 1889 is part of a Van Gogh collection
hanging at the Courtauld Gallery at Somerset House in the British capital.
It comes the day after five members of the group, which wants a halt to
all new UK fossil fuel projects, were arrested over a similarly disruptive
protest at an art museum in Glasgow.
"We don't want to be doing this," Louis McKechnie, one of the pair
claiming to have attached himself to the Van Gogh work, told onlookers at the
London gallery, according to footage shared by "Just Stop Oil".
"We're here glued to this painting -- this beautiful painting --
because we're terrified for our future," the 21-year-old added, noting he
and his fellow activist expected to be arrested.
"If there was any other way of getting the change we need, we would've
done it -- we've tried everything else."
The Courtauld confirmed the incident took place mid-afternoon and prompted
the closure of the gallery in which the painting hangs for the rest of
Thursday.
"We expect The Courtauld Gallery to reopen to the public as normal
tomorrow," it added in a statement.
McKechnie, a former engineering student who has already been arrested 20
times and spent six weeks in prison, is fast becoming one of the most
recognisable faces among Britain's climate change activists.
In March, he risked the wrath of football fans when he tied himself to a
goalpost in the middle of a match between Newcastle and Everton.
He told AFP earlier this month that he was prepared to become "public
enemy number one" over his direct actions.
In the video from the gallery Thursday, McKechnie accused the UK government
of "pushing through over 40 new fossil fuel projects" which were
"like signing our death warrants".
"My generation has no other choice but to take this kind of
action," he added.
On Wednesday, Britain's independent Climate Change Committee (CCC) warned
that the British government was failing to make adequate progress meeting
targets in its new net-zero strategy to be carbon neutral by 2050.
That prompted campaign group Greenpeace UK, business groups and opposition
politicians to urge ministers to ramp up delivering on climate change policies.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative government has recently reviewed
its energy strategy, including provision of nuclear, wind and solar power.
But it is also examining fossil fuel projects in the North Sea, as part of
attempts to safeguard domestic supplies after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Read More
Lifestyle
Jordan News
.jpg)
.jpg)
