Virginia removes statue that activists say was tribute to slavery

Wednesday, a Confederate General statue, symbolizing the US' horrific past with slavery, was taken down in the state of Virginia, after years of racial justice advocacy. 

The statue, erected more than 130 years ago on a 12-meter-high pedestal, was quietly lowered by crane in Richmond, the former capital of separatists during the 1861-1865 Civil War.

Hundreds of people gathered to watch the event from afar. Some waved their fists and let out jokes or cheers as the massive bronze statue by French artist Antonin Mercier was yanked off its pedestal.

The main military commander of the Confederate forces was Robert Lee who fought with the southern states against the northern states that had abolished slavery.

Local union official Mohamed Abdel-Rahman said the removal of the statue "erases a stain on Virginia's history and America's."

- George Floyd effect -

While many Confederate monuments across the country were recently removed without fanfare - sometimes in the middle of the night - Democratic Governor of Virginia Laureate Ralph Northam made sure the move had a patriotic feel.

Memorials honoring Robert Lee and other figures in southern states are seen by many Americans as racist symbols, while others see them as part of their historical legacy. 

In a move that reflects the country's deep rift over the issue, former President Donald Trump condemned in a statement the removal of this "magnificent" statue that honors "one of the greatest strategists."

"The radical left has destroyed our culture, our history and our heritage, good or bad," Trump added.

Governor Northam had announced his intention to remove the statue of the Confederate General in June 2020, ten days after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis from suffocation under the knee of a white policeman.

The killing of the African-American sparked a global movement denouncing racial discrimination and vigorously reviving debate about the country's past slavery.

A legal war by supporters of keeping the Confederate statue - the largest in the country - in place has delayed the removal process, which was finally approved last week by a Virginia Supreme Court decision.

- Six floors -

The statue of General Lee on his horse weighs 12 tons and is as tall as a six-story building. After it was lowered, the statue was cut with a saw from the general's belt level and then transported in a flatbed truck.

"Who owns this street? We do," a crowd gathered on Monument Street in Richmond, which until 2020 housed other statues honoring the losers of the War of Secession, chanted.

Due to the sensitivity of the memorial, the authorities have taken tight security measures in the neighborhood. Police temporarily banned traffic in the vicinity of the neighborhood and banned the flights of drones on Wednesday.

Richmond "is no longer the capital of the Union," said Mayor Levar Stoney, the mayor of this US city in southern Washington.

In Virginia itself, another statue of General Lee in Charlottesville caused violence in the summer of 2017, and a white supremacist drove his car into a crowd of anti-racism protesters, killing a young woman.

At the time, President Donald Trump felt that removing statues of Southern officers meant "tearing up" US history.

But Jeremias Woldmariam, a Virginia resident who attended the removal of the statue, disagrees.

"If people want to see it, it should be put in the museum, and in any case, not in this place for the residents to see every day," he said.

The Virginia governor said in a statement that the statue of General Lee "will be stored in a secure location under the responsibility of the state pending a decision on the final appropriate location for its display."