UK confronts colonial past with statue protests

OXFORD, United Kingdom: Thousands of people called on Tuesday for a statue of 19th century British imperialist Cecil Rhodes to be removed from an Oxford University college, as debate raged over the removal of other monuments to the nation’s colonial past.

Protesters chanted “Take it down” and “Decolonise”, and held placards urging “Rhodes Must Fall” and “Black Lives Matter” beneath the statue at Oriel College. The “Rhodes Must Fall” movement, which began in South Africa, failed in a previous attempt to have the statue removed but has been revived by a wave of anti-racism protests. Protesters sat with raised fists for nearly nine minutes in tribute to unarmed black man George Floyd, whose death in US police custody triggered outrage and condemnation worldwide. Sylvanus Leigh, 44, said the limestone statue of the Victorian-era tycoon, who founded the De Beers diamond company in what is now Zimbabwe, represented “a colonial mindset”. The care worker told AFP he could think of more deserving candidates for a statue. “Better to have Mother Teresa or Desmond Tutu,” he said. The leader of Oxford City Council, Susan Brown, said it would be a “good thing” if Oriel, which was founded in 1326, applied for permission to remove the statue. The college had to “find the right balance between the laws that protect our historic buildings and the moral obligation to reflect on the malign symbolism of this statue”, she added. Local MP Layla Moran called Rhodes a “white supremacist who does not represent the values of Oxford in 2020”. - ‘Uncomfortable truth’

The protest comes after activists toppled a statue to Edward Colton, a 17th century merchant who helped build the city of Bristol and played a leading role in slavery. Years of local debate over what to do with the statue came to an end on Sunday when it was thrown in the harbour. Campaigners in Wales are now demanding the removal of memorials to Napoleonic war hero Thomas Picton, who was accused of cruelty while serving as a governor in Trinidad.