[ad_1]
Protestors in town of Montreal supporting a motion to defund the police toppled and defaced a statue of Canada’s first Prime Minister John A MacDonald.
While no group has taken duty for the act on the Place du Canada in the biggest metropolis in the province of Quebec, there was a march in Montreal on Saturday afternoon that includes activists in search of to defund the police, and in assist of Black Lives Matter and indigenous peoples.
According to a video of the incident, a cluster of folks scaled the monument the place the statue was prominently featured after which pulled it down utilizing ropes after unbolting it from its pedestal. The statue was additionally decapitated and defaced with graffiti.
According to the nationwide broadcaster CBC, a leaflet discovered on the web site learn, in half, “Sir John A. Macdonald was a white supremacist who orchestrated the genocide of Indigenous peoples with the creation of the brutal residential schools system, as well as promoting other measures that attacked Indigenous peoples and traditions.”
Also learn: What’s subsequent as Japan PM Abe quits, potential successors
Statues of MacDonald have been attacked in numerous elements of the nation in the previous however this was the first time one was introduced down. Canada witnessed demonstrations in a number of cities, together with Toronto, Calgary and Montreal, on Saturday.
The act of nameless activists got here in for criticism from leaders. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante condemned the vandalism resulting in the tearing down of the statue and mentioned such acts “cannot be accepted nor tolerated.” She added, “I understand and share the motivation of citizens who want to live in a more just and inclusive society. The discussion and the actions that are required must be done in a peaceful manner, without ever resorting to vandalism.”
The Premier of Quebec Francoise Legault described the act as “unacceptable” and added, “We must fight racism, but destroying parts of our history is not the solution. Vandalism has no place in our democracy and the statue must be restored.” The vandalism additionally confronted rising criticism from nationwide and provincial leaders throughout the nation. Plante mentioned Montreal’s public artwork workplace will safe the perimeter of the world the place the statue stood and coordinate its “conservation.”
[ad_2]
Source hyperlink