A statue of Mahatma Gandhi in front of the Indian embassy outside Washington DC was vandalized by people allegedly by those who were taking part in the protest against the killing of George Floyd. The statue as spray-painted with profanities.
The United States ambassador to India, Ken Juster, took to Twitter and apologized saying,
“So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Wash, DC. Please accept our sincere apologies. Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd & the awful violence & vandalism. We stand against prejudice & discrimination of any type. We will recover & be better.”
Soon after the vandalism, the statue was covered with a protective cloth and the local authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.
America continues to burn
The death of George Floyd has left America burning as other police killings of black men grew on Saturday. Tense protests continue to escalate in New York, Tulsa, and Los Angeles as police cars were set on fire.
The protests that began in Minneapolis after George Floyd was killed by a police officer after he pressed his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes straight. The protests that began on Monday has left the city with broken windows, burning or burned outbuildings. Floyd’s death has brought the conversation back to America’s biggest issue still – racism.
While people from different walks of life have come on the streets to make their voices heard, different organizations too are taking a stand. The protestors are reminding people and the administration of years of such crimes being committed by the police. However, the protestors not maintaining social distance and not wearing masks have alarmed health experts as the country is yet to recover from the onslaught of the coronavirus pandemic that claimed 100,000 lives in the country.
As the country was looking to reopen the economy, it was stuck with Floyd’s death. Although many protestors took to streets to demonstrate their protest peacefully, some of the protests took an ugly turn on Friday as many turned violent.
In Los Angeles, people chanted “Black Lives Matter” within inches away from the police shield. The “Black Lives Matter” has got onto social media as to massive criticism against Trump and his administration surfaced.
Source: The Indian Express
