Mahatma Gandhi’s statue outside Indian Embassy in Washington vandalised; US envoy offers 'apology'
Mahatma Gandhi’s statue outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC was 'desecrated' by unruly elements involved in the ongoing protests in the US.
Mahatma Gandhi's statue in US vandalised by protestors | Photo Credit: ANI
Washington: Mahatma Gandhi’s statue outside the Indian Embassy in Washington DC was 'desecrated' by unruly elements involved in the ongoing protests in the US. The United States Park Police have launched an investigation, more details regarding the incident are awaited, news agency ANI reported.
"So sorry to see the desecration of the Gandhi statue in Washington, DC. Please accept our sincere apologies... Appalled as well by the horrific death of George Floyd and the awful violence & vandalism. We stand against prejudice and discrimination of any type. We will recover and be better," Ken Juster, US Ambassador to India said.
Massive protests have erupted not just in the US, but across the globe to express outrage over the death of George Floyd in the US. Floyd, an unarmed black man, died on May 25 after a white police officer in Minneapolis placed his knee on Floyd's neck even after he stopped the car.
Protestors have taken to streets in Paris, Sydney and in Argentina, Brazil, Canada and New Zealand besides others, to express anger against Floyd's death.
Hundreds of thousands of protesters and a number of businesses across the US extended their support to cause of racial justice. Many news organisations displayed black screens to protest the treatment given to the black community in the US. Protests, which broke out in Washington and New York earlier this week, spread across a number of cities in the US, prompting the administration to impose a curfew in almost 40 cities.
Trump threatened to use military, then retracted the statement
On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump claimed that his administration has done 'more for black people than former president Abraham Lincoln'. "My Administration has done more for the Black Community than any President since Abraham Lincoln. Passed Opportunity Zones with Senator Tim Scott, guaranteed to fund for HBCU's, School Choice, passed Criminal Justice Reform, lowest Black unemployment, poverty, and crime rates in history," Trump tweeted.
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A massive war-of-words broke out when Trump threatened of using military force to suppress the violent protests. Upon severe criticism from the opposition as well as from within his own administration, the US President, on Wednesday, corrected his stance and said that his administration 'does not think' that they will have to use the military against American people.