A monument erected as a tribute to the first Belgian colonisers in Congo in Brussels' Parc du Cinquantenaire was vandalised with red paint this weekend. Similar acts have been carried out on statues of King Leopold II in Brussels.
The sculpture, made by Thomas Vinçotte in 1921 with white Euville stone, has been the target of vandalism before since it was put up as a tribute to Belgium's colonial history in Congo.
Other controversial statues have also been covered in red paint elsewhere in the city, particularly since the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020. The large statue of Belgian King Leopold II on horseback on Place du Trône, for example, has already been defaced in red paint several times.
The police were informed of the act of vandalism on Saturday afternoon and immediately opened an investigation to identify the perpetrator, spokesperson Ilse Van de Keere confirmed to La Capitale.
