TWO climate activists linked to the notorious environmental protest group Just Stop Oil were arrested by Catalan police on Sunday after staining Barcelona’s iconic Sagrada Familia basilica with a red dye.
Two women, named only as Luna and Victoria online, were dragged away by security guards at 8am local time after spraying the exterior of Antoni Gaudi’s gothic masterpiece with red and black-dyed cornstarch.
The pair chanted ‘climate justice’ and accused the Spanish government of being ‘complicit’ in the abundance of forest fires that have ravaged the countryside across the country this summer.
One of the activists wore a t-shirt that read, ‘El futuro es nuestro’ (‘The future is ours’), while the other, sporting a blonde bob, wore a top emblazoned with the logo of eco-protest group Futuro Vegetal (‘Plant Future’).
Futuro Vegetal say they are a ‘civil disobedience and direct action group that fights against the Climate Crisis by adopting a plant-based food system’.
Last year, five activists from Futuro Vegetal were intercepted by security at Barcelona El-Prat Airport after attempting to glue themselves to the runway.
The protest formed part of a coordinated set of eco-demonstrations across Europe by Oil Kills, an activist group with links to Just Stop Oil, an infamous eco-protest organisation who gained notoriety in the UK for their disruptive tactics including blocking roads and interrupting sporting events.
In a statement posted on X, Futuro Vegetal said Sunday’s protest was a response to the wildfires that have scorched swathes of land in recent months as Spain sweltered in the face of its ‘most intense’ heatwave on record.
“We act. We threw tinted powder at the facade of the Sagrada Familia to protest against the complicity of the various governments in the fires that have ravaged the [Iberian] Peninsula this summer,” the group said.
“According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, around 70% of forest fires are caused by activities related to livestock farming.
“However, the subsidies to the system do not cease and, in fact, the fires have been used by the meat lobby as a propaganda tool.
“The various regional and central governments are once again prioritising watering down public money to livestock farms instead of protecting the people who have lost their homes in the fires.
“While the first ones are promised €5,500 in direct aid, the second ones are limited to €500.
“We don’t want ecocidal industries to be subsidised with our taxes. We want public funds to be allocated to essential employees like firefighters or healthcare workers.”
Futuro Vegetal’s claim that 70% of fires in Spain are related to livestock farming is inaccurate, according to research undertaken by the Olive Press.
According to government figures up to 2015, around 47.7% of intentional fires were related to agricultural and livestock activities – although this figure discounts blazes that are not intentionally lit.
A separate study conducted in 2021 found that 94% of wildfires were caused by human activity, of which some 70% was due to negligence.
This included agricultural activities, but also other accidents, while the data was also limited to Galicia rather than Spain as a whole.
The two activists who stained the Sagrada Familia were arrested by the Mossos d’Esquadra and whacked with a fine of €600 each.
Early this morning, two separate activists from Futuro Vegetal sprayed the front of an FC Barcelona club store with red paint, before unfurling a banner that read, ‘FC Barcelona Genocide. Free Palestine. Free Congo’.
READ MORE: Barcelona strike a €44m shirt deal with DR Congo — but is it a winner or own goal?
In a statement posted on social media, the activist group accused FC Barcelona of ‘complicity’ in the ‘genocide in Palestine’ due to its sponsorship arrangement with music streaming giants Spotify.
The complaints relate to Prima Materia, an investment company founded by Spotify CEO Daniel Ek that led a €600 million funding round for defence-tech company Helsing earlier this year.
However, there is no verifiable evidence that Helsing develops or supplies military technology used by the Israeli government.
Futuro Vegetal also criticised FC Barcelona for striking a four-year, €44 million back-of-shirt sponsorship deal with the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“It is a shame that FC Barcelona collaborates with a government that perpetuates the cycle of violence against its own population for neocolonial interests,” the group said.
But the protesters who targeted FC Barcelona’s store evidently failed to do their homework.
The pair unveiled the flag of the Republic of the Congo – an entirely different country.
Click here to read more Spain News from The Olive Press.
These protestors seem to be incredibly stupid, below par intelligence as demonstrated! Needless to say, a lot of these people seem to be bored and unemployed so resort to being very destructive!
Kettle calling the pot black.