Police in Oslo have filed charges against two anti-oil activists after they demonstrated in front of Norway’s Oil Ministry and sprayed orange paint on and around its entrance. They claim they’re just trying to stop the Norwegian government from issuing more licenses for oil exploration.
After covering the entrance and adjacent windows and walls of the ministry with paint, the two demonstrators sat down in front of the building with a sign reading “Stopp oljeletinga” (Stop the oil exploration). It was the group’s fourth demonstration against Norway’s controversial oil policy in the past week.
“This isn’t a campaign that only belongs to the environmental movement,” said a spokesperson for the organization also called Stopp oljeletinga, Frida Steinbakk. She said the group hopes to mobilize others into engaging themselves in the climate campaign and demanding that politicians take action.
“Civil disobedience is a form of freedom of expression,” Steinbakk told newspaper Klassekampen. “Our actions are meant to both provoke and engage.”
Police later reported that both activists were charged, first with vandalism and then for failing to clean up after themselves.
NewsinEnglish.no staff
