Belgium: Statue of late King Leopold II vandalised by protesters for third time

A bust of Leopold II, the Belgian king who has been held responsible for the deaths of millions of Congolese, was reportedly vandalised for the third time. The late Belgian King was revered as the builder of the country, however, amid the anti-racism protests, his legacy has come under the spotlight. According to international media reports, the latest incident of vandalism is believed to be taken place late on July 31, when his statue outside the Africa Museum was once again splashed with blood-red paint. 

During his reign from 1865 to 1909, the land that was then the Belgian Congo and is now largely in the Democratic Republic of Congo was run for Leopold’s profits. Millions of Africans were killed, tortured or died of the hardship of forced labour. When the Black Live Matter protests erupted across the globe, several statues and monuments of the Belgian King were reportedly targeted. 

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While this time the plinth under the late king’s head was emblazoned ‘BLM II’, back in June another statue of his was vandalised and spattered in red pain, labelled ‘Murderer’. In the wake of the protests against racial inequality triggered by the death of George Floyd in the United States, Belgium citizens have been demanding to reassess the country’s colonial past. The protester also signed a petition calling for the country to remove of all that statues of the former king. 

Belgian King expressed regret for violence 

Amid the increasing tensions, in the month of June, for the first time in Belgium’s history, a reigning king also expressed fret for the violence carried out by the former colonial power. In a letter to the president of the DRC, Felix Tshisekedi, Belgium's King Philippe reportedly conveyed his ‘deepest regrets’ for the acts of ‘violence and cruelty’ and the ‘suffering and humiliation’ inflicted on Belgian Congo. 

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While refereeing to the period when the country was privately ruled by Leopold II, Philippe said, “Our history is made of common achievements, but has also known painful episodes. At the time of the independent State of the Congo, acts of violence and cruelty were committed that still weigh on our collective memory”. 

He added, “I want to express my deepest regrets for these wounds of the past, the pain of which is today revived by discrimination that is all too present in our societies”. Further, he also insisted that he is determined to keep fighting all forms of racism. 

(With AP inputs) 

(Image: @koenmaetens/Twitter) 

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