New Delhi: Days after the desecration of a Mahatma Gandhi statue in US capital Washington DC during George Floyd protests, demonstrators in Parliament Square, London pasted anti-racism messages on Mahatma Gandhi’s statue and wrote “racist” near the base.
The statue, installed in 2015, is one among 12 in the square of prominent British, Commonwealth and foreign political figures, such as Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela. Most of the statues along the main square were defiled with words such as ‘racist’ spray-painted on them, while some saw placards of the Black Lives Matter movement being hung around their necks.
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“People have a right to protest peacefully and while observing social distancing but they have no right to attack the police,” Johnson tweeted on Sunday.
People have a right to protest peacefully & while observing social distancing but they have no right to attack the police. These demonstrations have been subverted by thuggery – and they are a betrayal of the cause they purport to serve. Those responsible will be held to account.
— Boris Johnson (@BorisJohnson) June 7, 2020
“These demonstrations have been subverted by thuggery – and they are a betrayal of the cause they purport to serve. Those responsible will be held to account.”
Gandhi statue vandalised in US
The incident in London comes shortly after the Mahatma Gandhi statue outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC was desecrated, as per news agency ANI. Quoting sources, ANI on Thursday also said that United States Park Police have launched an investigation. Meanwhile, responding to the shocking incident of vandalism the United States’ Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster apologised on June 4.
Taking to Twitter, Juster had said that he is appalled by both on the killing of George Floyd and the ‘awful’ violence and vandalism that begun in name of protests thereafter. He also assured that the US administration stands against prejudice and discrimination of any type, while also extending his apologies to India.
