Mahatma Gandhi statue vandalized in Amsterdam by strangers (File)
Amsterdam:
Mahatma Gandhi statue vandalized in Amsterdam by unidentified people with graffiti and spray paint in the midst of a wave of attacks following worldwide protests against the murder of African American George in custody Floyd, according to media reports.
The statue of Mahatma Gandhi, which signifies a path of peace and non-violence, on the Churchilllaan in Amsterdam was covered with red paint and the pedestal had “racist” and an abbreviation for an explanation against the police in chalk, Metro, the Dutch newspaper, reported the PTI news agency.
According to Alderman Rutger Groot Wassink, the municipality will file a smear declaration.
“Obviously, we are against any form of vandalism and the damage to these things is completely unacceptable,” said the city official quoted in the report.
“It makes sense that we file a statement, the image will be cleaned up,” said Wassink.
It is not yet known who is behind the blur.
An employee of the Kunstwacht, which provides maintenance and repairs, says that cleaning work can take hours.
A 75-year-old man saw the beards on Wednesday and called the municipality.
“I have lived here for forty years and I have never experienced this. I have been looking at the statue for years,” said the man.
Since the death of Floyd, 46, on May 25 in Minneapolis, United States, and the subsequent global Black Lives Matter protests, there has been much debate about the street names and statues of people with a past. colonial. All over the world, statues of historical figures are demolished or degraded.
Recently, images and buildings have been degraded in various places that refer to the colonial past of the Netherlands, including the Tropenmuseum in Amsterdam and the statue of Piet Hein in Rotterdam. These are anti-racist expressions that follow the death of Floyd by a white policeman, Metro reported.
Mahatma Gandhi was known as a defender of human rights and non-violence.
The statue was unveiled on the Churchillaan on October 2, 1990 in honor of the 121st birthday of Mahatma Gandhi.
The drawing was made by the sculptor Karel Gomes, who died in 2016. At the time, the plan for the statue came from the Hindu organization Triveda.
Mahatma Gandhi is shown walking, with dresses around his body, slippers on his feet, a book in one hand and a stick in the other.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
