Protests damage statue of Belgian king outside museum

Published August 4, 2020
BRUSSELS: A bust of former Belgian king Leopold II, covered in red paint with “BLM” spray-painted on its base, sits in the Africa Museum’s park. The statue, which had already been painted in June, is regularly defaced.—AFP
BRUSSELS: A bust of former Belgian king Leopold II, covered in red paint with “BLM” spray-painted on its base, sits in the Africa Museum’s park. The statue, which had already been painted in June, is regularly defaced.—AFP

BRUSSELS: A bust of late Belgian king Leopold II, who exploited the country’s brutally-run former central African colony as a personal estate, has been vandalised for a third time.

Ruling the Belgians between 1865 and 1909, Leopold II was revered at home as the builder of his country, but his legacy came under the spotlight this year as anti-racist protests spread around the world.

During his reign, the land that was then the Belgian Congo and is now largely in the Democratic Republic of Congo was run for his profit and millions of Africans were killed, tortured or died of the hardship of forced labour.

When “Black Lives Matters” protests erupted this year triggered by anger in the United States at the latest police killings of unarmed black suspects, Leopold’s many monuments were targeted.

The latest incident is thought to have taken place late Friday, when a statue of Leopold outside the Africa Museum just outside Brussels was once again daubed in blood-red paint.

The plinth under the late king’s head is now emblazoned “BLM II”, a reference to Black Lives Matter.

Museum director Guido Gryseels said on Monday that the museum — a former colonialist institution which reopened after a renovation in 2018 with a mission to put Belgium’s history in Africa in proper context — had already been planning to add an explanatory plaque to the statue.

But he said the entire future of the statue was now up for debate and that “a lot of people would like to see it taken down”.

Published in Dawn, August 4th, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

Judiciary’s SOS
Updated 28 Mar, 2024

Judiciary’s SOS

The ball is now in CJP Isa’s court, and he will feel pressure to take action.
Data protection
28 Mar, 2024

Data protection

WHAT do we want? Data protection laws. When do we want them? Immediately. Without delay, if we are to prevent ...
Selling humans
28 Mar, 2024

Selling humans

HUMAN traders feed off economic distress; they peddle promises of a better life to the impoverished who, mired in...
New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.