Just Stop
Oil, a group made up of climate activists, organised a protest on Friday at
around 11 am in London’s Trafalgar Square. Two women from the group, donning
Just Stop Oil t-shirts, threw two tins of Heinz tomato soup over Vincent van
Gogh’s Sunflowers, the famous 1888 painting, which has an estimated value of
72.5 million pounds.

One of the
two women, 21-year-old Phoebe Palmer, shouted out: “What is worth more? Art or
life?” continuing, “Are you more concerned about the protection of a painting?
Or the protection of our planet and people?”

The
demonstration at UK’s National Museum was part of continuing protests seeking
an end to issuance of all new oil and gas licenses.

Who are
Just Stop Oil?

Just Stop
Oil was founded on February 14, 2022. The climate action group is merely eight
months old. The group is geared towards civil resistance with the aim of
insisting on the government of the United Kingdom to stop new fossil fuel
licensing and production. The first protest organised by Just Stop Oil was held
in a month of oil terminal disruptions across the UK. The group has gained notoriety
due to its attacks on art galleries.

Demonstrations
that made the news:

1.      
BAFTA Awards: Two
supporters of Just Stop Oil sought to disrupt the 75th British
Academy Film Awards (BAFTA).

2.      
Football disruptions:

·       On March 20, two members of the
group attempted to disrupt a football match at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in
London but were intercepted.

·       The very next day, one supporter of
Just Stop Oil disrupted a football match at Goodison Park in Liverpool when he
ran onto the pitch and tied himself to the goal post by his neck.

·       On March 22, a supporter ran into
the pitch during a football game in Molineux Stadium Wolverhampton.

·       On March 24, six supporters of Just
Stop Oil disrupted a match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in north London.

3.      
Since April 1, Just Stop Oil members have been blockading 10 critical
oil facilities intent on cutting off petrol supply to the southeast of England.

4.      
Just Stop Oil supporters say they were inspired to take the aforementioned
tactic from the UK lorry drivers’ protests that paralysed petrol distribution.

5.      
F1 British Grand Prix: On July 3, some members of the Just Stop Oil group sat on the middle of
the track during the 2022 British Grand Prix. The race was stopped seconds
before they sat because of a crash and their demonstration had no impact on the
tournament.

From July 22, members of Just Stop Oil have
started targeting artworks in public galleries.