British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has indicated that it was “absurd and shameful” that a statue of Winston Churchill was at risk of being attacked by activists, his strongest statement yet of growing protests against the legacies of previous leaders. Likewise, he has emphasized that we cannot edit our past and in this way, he affirms that the statue of Winston Churchill is at risk of attack.
Likewise, anti-racism protesters, who have organized demonstrations since the death of African-American George Floyd, have put the statues at the forefront of their defiance of Britain’s imperialist past. In fact, a statue of Edward Colston, who made a fortune in the 17th century from the slave trade, was demolished in the city of Bristol on Sunday.
Ahead of new protests on Friday and over the weekend, officials raised a statue in front of Churchill’s parliament, Britain’s prime minister during World War II, after protesters defaced it on Sunday.
Statues that are clearly legitimate targets
Notably, around 500 people gathered at London’s Hyde Park on Friday, singing “the UK is not innocent” and “Black Lives Matter”, before marching through central London, and many said statues like Colston’s were legitimate targets.
Organizers also told protesters not to show up in central London on Saturday amid concerns that there could be altercations with counter-protesters seeking to defend statues.
For his part, far-right activist Stephen Yaxley-Lennon said he would not come to the square on Saturday because he did not want to be responsible for a larger racial divide. Meanwhile, on Friday there were a small number of people arguing next to the Churchill statue.
In reference to this, it is necessary to indicate that Johnson is an admirer and biographer of Churchill, and some of his close friends say that he wants to emulate him.
Source: Reuters — Michael Holden and Elizabeth Piper | National Post
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