Protesters in Germany glued themselves to runways at two German airports last week. The effort was the latest in a number of stunts caused by climate change activists, including defacing famous pieces of art.
Members of the group the Last Generation caused a traffic shutdown at airports in Hamburg and Dusseldorf which included the cancelation of dozens of flights Thursday.
In Dusseldorf, seven members of the group cut through a security fence prior to gluing themselves to the tarmac.
In Hamburg, there were nine trespassers, eight of whom glued themselves to the runway Thursday morning. One of their number was arrested.
One of the protesters said that the group could not “watch any longer as our Earth burns with our government adding fuel to the fire every day with their fossil madness. That’s why we’re blocking the airport today.”
“Why the protest at the airport? If not at an airport, where is the right place to protest the destruction of our livelihoods?” the group said.
The organization also stated that the “world is on fire and we are the last generation to have a chance to pick up the fire extinguisher.”
The protest resulted in 46 flights from Hamburg being affected.
“The Last Generation isn’t protecting the climate, they’re engaged in criminal activity,” said German Transport Minister Volker Wissing.
Last year, activists defaced a number of artworks on display to protest climate change.
A Vincent Van Gogh painting on display in Rome came under attack from Italian environmental activists who threw pea soup on it before gluing themselves to the wall of the gallery in protest https://t.co/tWwez8LrTk pic.twitter.com/CrJRoFyywq
— Reuters (@Reuters) November 4, 2022
One of the attacks included protesters throwing tomato soup on a painting by Vincent van Gogh at the National Gallery in London.
Two activists were arrested following the incident. In this case, the group Just Stop Oil was responsible for the vandalism.
“Human creativity and brilliance is on show in this gallery, yet our heritage is being destroyed by our Government’s failure to act on the climate and cost of living crisis,” the group said.
Last June, another set of Just Stop Oil protesters glued their hands to another van Gogh painting at another gallery in London.
