Days after some #BalckLivesMatter protesters in the US vandalised the statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC, some similar unruly elements have desecrated another Mahatma Gandhi statue on Parliament Square, London. The miscreants defaced the statue on Sunday with scribbling ‘racist’ on its plinth and splattering it with white paint. They also taped placards with anti-racism messages on it.
Mahatma Gandhi statue defaced along with Winston Churchill’s
The Mahatma Gandhi statue was installed in 2015 along with 11 other prominent British, Commonwealth and foreign political figures, such as Abraham Lincoln and Nelson Mandela and Winston Churchill. The statue was defaced along with a few other statues installed in the square, one being that of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, which was also defaced and spray-painted with the word ‘racist’ on Sunday.
Along with vandalising these statues the rioters also attacked Metropolitan police personnel who were reportedly unarmed at that time. The Black Lives Matter (BLM) protestors pelted glass bottles and missiles at the police. leaving 35 of them injured.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson called the demonstration on Sunday a “betrayal of the cause they purport to serve” and condemned the “thuggery”, saying the protesters had no right to attack police. He said that those responsible will be held to account.
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 #StayAlert (@BorisJohnson) June 7, 2020
Mahatma Gandhi statue vandalised outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC
Prior to this incident, using the background of the ongoing #BalckLivesMatter protests in the US, some unruly elements have vandalised the statue of Mahatma Gandhi outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC.
Massive protests over George Floyd’s murder
George Floyd, an unarmed black man, had died on 25th May after a Minneapolis police officer placed his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than eight minutes after an altercation. Massive protests have erupted across the USA against racial injustice. However, as the protestors ran amok, countless incidents of vandalism, looting, assault and arson have been reported. Many shops of luxury brands have been looted too.
