A bust of former Belgian King Leopold II in Auderghem, a municipality of Brussels in Belgium, was splashed with red paint and pulled from its pedestal.
King Leopold II colonized the Congo in the mid-1880s and ran a brutal regime involving slavery, resource exploitation, and genocide, which lasted until 1960 and left an estimated 10-15 million dead.1 2
It is unknown exactly who pulled down the statue in the night of 12th June 2020 but some reports say there was a group of approximately 10 people, who had disappeared by the time the police arrived.3 Images on Twitter appear to show the bust being removed from its pedestal.4
Other statues of King Leopold II have also been pulled down. For example one in Antwerp.
References
Photo Credit: Belga
