Climate change campaigners from the Extinction Rebellion movement threw red paint at the Brazilian embassy in London on Tuesday, protesting damage being done to the Amazon rainforest and what they describe as attacks on indigenous people living there.
Two protesters occupied the canopy above the entrance of the building, while two others glued themselves to the windows, according to Reuters.
Streaks of red paint were seen on the façade of the embassy, along with slogans such as “Make Ecocide Law” and "No More Indigenous Blood".
Police were deployed to the scene and cordoned off the area. The embassy has not commented on the demonstration so far.
Extinction Rebellion is an international campaign working to press governments for a change of environmental policies through non-violent civil disobedience.
Last October, the group announced an “open rebellion” against the UK government for its perceived failure to inform and protect its citizens from climate change. Britain’s former counter-terrorism chief, Richard Walton, has described them as an “extremist” group seeking to subvert liberal democracy in the country.
Members of the group – which is said to receive donations from billionaire investor George Soros – have in the past stripped off to interrupt the Brexit debate in parliament, blockaded the London Stock Exchange, and shut down central London by occupying five major bridges over the River Thames.
The Tuesday demonstration was timed to coincide with the first march of indigenous women from across Brazil in the country’s capital, Brasilia, to protest against what they call the growing number of violations of indigenous rights under the Jair Bolsonaro government.
Bolsonaro in January declared that he would permit commercial mining and farming on the reservation lands – an initiative slammed by the nation’s indigenous community and environmentalists.
Brazil’s new president has repeatedly criticised the existence of indigenous lands, saying that they prevent the country from profiting from its natural resources and therefore hinder the economic growth.
Last month, he questioned satellite data provided by the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which showed that deforestation in the Amazon forest – the biggest rainforest on the planet – jumped by 278-per in July 2019 year-on-year.
“I am convinced the data is a lie,” he said. “We are going to call the president of INPE here to talk about this and that’s the end of that issue.”
