worldwide, the struggle with the monuments.
Protesters from the movement for the rights of blacks for the second week in a row defile the monuments to famous historical figures. Blacklist protesters as this gets longer and longer and sometimes comes to the absurd. It was not only former kings and military leaders, but even the navigators of the era of Great geographical discoveries and the supporters of the abolition of slavery. “B” understood, who, according to the protesters, does not deserve a place in the history of the world and how to relate to the situation of the local authorities.
Supporters of the protest movement for Black Lives Matter (“black Life is important”), once again loudly declared itself after the death of the African-American George Floyd, continue to campaign for the demolition and desecration of monuments to historical figures. The most active way it unfolded in the United States. There the anger of the protesters is mainly aimed at the generals and soldiers of the Confederacy of the southern States of the Civil war era of 1860-ies. In Virginia, for example, activists were able to achieve the dismantling of the 12-ton monument dedicated to General Robert E. Lee — the slave owner and commander of the Confederate army. There’s also the vandals destroyed a statue of the first and only President of the Confederate States of America Jefferson Davis. The third U.S. President Thomas Jefferson, one of the authors of the Declaration of independence, the Americans are also not spared, and in Oregon (Portland) carried the statue from the pedestal, in particular because he was a slave owner.
However, resent the protesters and some monuments to the people who directly contributed to the abolition of slavery. So, the authorities of Boston, as reported by the news portal Boston.com consider to remove the monument to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. We are talking about the emancipation Memorial, which portrays a standing General and a black man on his knees, with broken chains around him.
“Many people think that this memorial identifies the idea of freedom, but I, as a black man passed by him, and the freedom not see,” said African American Tory Bullock is the author of the petition for the demolition of the monument, which was signed already 8 thousand.
Attack of the vandals were subjected and the figure of the discoverer of the New world of Christopher Columbus — though not for the massacre of the black population, and colonization of the Indians. The Spanish sailor has managed to decapitate in Boston (Massachusetts), and his statue in Richmond (Virginia) last week was set on fire and thrown into the river. The statue of Columbus in Columbus circle Manhattan protesters to reach has not reached its power new York carefully guarded. But in Saint Louis (Missouri) the administration of the Park “tower grove” dismantled the monument to more��ovately voluntarily. He stood there for 140 years.
overall opinion of the American authorities concerning the events was divided.
But with the position of trump is not all in agreement. “Although I believe that it is imperative that we never forget our history, I also believe that in the sacred halls of the United States Capitol or in a place of honor there is no place for celebration of violent fanaticism of the men of the Confederation,” said June 11, the speaker of the house of representatives, Nancy Pelosi. She also said that she already sent a letter to the joint library Committee with a call to dismantle the statues of confederates in the Capitol building.
In the line of fire this week, the national hero of France, Charles de Gaulle, or rather, snow-white bust of the General in the North in the town of the SWAT region About-de-France. the accident was reported on Twitter by the head of the region, Xavier Bertrand. “A few days before the anniversary of the speech on 18 June (spoken by Charles de Gaulle 18 June 1940 speech gave impetus to the Resistance movement during the Second world war.— “B”), at a time when we must remember that General de Gaulle lit the flame of resistance, was an outrageous desecration of the monument to him in the Riot. This requires a serious punishment,” he wrote. The recording of Bertrand attached two photos. On one sealed drenched in yellow paint the bust of the hero and the other a pedestal with the inscription big red letters “supporter of slavery”. Another monument to de Gaulle in Le Pavillon-sous-Bois, previously damaged in the same way.
Public discussion and about other historical figures. Among them: Governor-General Algeria in 1845 Tom Buzo and Governor-General Madagascar in the period from 1896 to 1905, Joseph Gallieni, and also participated in the colonization of Senegal in the mid-nineteenth century, General Louis Faidherb. All of them were accused of killing local residents and torture.
Remembered Jean-Baptiste Colbert, the Finance Minister and right hand of king Louis XIV, which was designed by the “Black code” to regulate in France the slave trade. Established in his honour the statue at the Palais Bourbon in Paris propose to carry.
this, in particular, said on Sunday in a televised address to the nation the President of France Emmanuel macron. “We are a nation, a community of people where everyone regardless of origin and religion must find its place,” he said. Problem the head of the Republic has not, however, ignored and instead the destruction of monuments and invited the French to rethink the story, especially relations with Africa.
a Similar opinion is shared by the UK authorities. There, the protesters have managed to disfigure a monument to the former the Prime Minist��have Winston Churchill located in London, convenient to the British Parliament. The vandals left on the pedestal is the inscription, “He was a racist.” The damage was done, and other historical figures. In Bristol, demonstrators tore down from the pedestal and threw into the river the statue of philanthropist and slave trader Edward Colston, established in the late nineteenth century. In London the administration of the Museum of Docklands have dismantled a statue of the shipowner Robert Milligan, and the number of buildings on the government in Whitehall were covered with graffiti. In their number were the Cenotaph — monument to the fallen in the First world war British soldiers. It, along with a monument to Winston Churchill, and a statue of George Washington and king James II in Trafalgar square London authorities have already taken under protection.
the protesters demanded to remove the statue of the Indian leader national liberation movement of Mahatma Gandhi in Leicester. The petition has already gathered more than 5 thousand signatures.
the Cause of the displeasure was some excerpts from letters of Mahatma Gandhi which he wrote from Africa at an early stage of his political activities. In online-petition he called a “fascist” and “sexual predator”.
They presented the project “to Overthrow the racist” and even created for these purposes, a separate site with an interactive map of the location of the monuments. For example, are the monuments Prime Minister Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, the years, Robert Saw and XVI century seafarer Francis Drake.
the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the attacks on historical monuments “absurd and shameful”.
“to Carry them — it means to lie about our history and make more scarce, the process of education of future generations”, — said the head of government of the country in column for the newspaper the Telegraph. For Winston Churchill Johnson separately stood up, calling him “the greatest Briton in history” and the opponent “racist tyranny”.
with words Alone the leadership of the United Kingdom does not intend to be limited. As reported in the Sunday newspaper The Telegraph, British authorities are planning to toughen the punishment for vandalism. The promised amendments to the law will be presented in the House of Commons on 23 June. According to the newspaper, the vandals will face imprisonment of up to ten years. Under current law, for the desecration of monuments you can get three months in jail and a fine not exceeding £5 million (about 440 thousand rubles.).
the anger of the demonstrators in Belgium focused on the figure of king Leopold II, 1885-1908 in which he took the colonization of the Congo basin. After vandals doused the statue of king gasoline and set on fire, the authorities of Antwerp dismantled the monument and took��restoration. In place, however, Leopold II will not return, and will transfer to the Africa Museum in Tervuren.
Similar cases of desecration of the memory of the former king was also in Halle, Ostend and Ghent.
“there is No doubt that the roots of racism in our society lie in the colonial period, however, the story accelerates, and I want to contribute to this process”, — said the mayor of the Brussels commune of Molenbeek Catherine Moore in an interview with Soir. She, in particular, spoke in support of the initiative to rename one of the main thoroughfares of the city — the Boulevard Leopold II.
a Number of statues desecrated and the Netherlands. Suffered a monument to the Dutch Admiral the West Indies company Pete Peterson the Hein: he is accused of transporting slaves from Africa across the Atlantic ocean. For this reason, in Rotterdam was covered in wall paint the art center named after Dutch Vice Admiral Witte de Witt.
However, the municipality of Amsterdam has promised that the inventory associated with the colonial past of the statues, buildings and street names will guide you and if necessary will be placed on the special plates.
the Fight against monuments is increasingly beyond the US and Europe. On Tuesday barely managed to keep a monument to the first Prime Minister South Africa Union Louis Botha in Cape town (South Africa).
to Strengthen laws aimed at protecting monuments, already planning in Australia. There is a target of the activists was another sailor who committed a number of geographical discoveries, — James cook. In particular, it has corrupted two monuments in Sydney. Prime Minister state of New South Wales Gladys Berejiklian stated that the relevant amendments to the legislation it to make do not wish.
a Wave of U.S. protests also came to New Zealand. due complaints of the residents in Hamilton have dismantled a statue of the British colonizer John Hamilton, who is accused of murder of the indigenous population, the Maori. “We cannot ignore what is happening around the world, and we don’t have, said mayor Paula Southgate. But, according to the city authorities to rename the city is not going to.
Marina Kovalenko
