Statue of King Leopold II Could Be Melted Down as Belgium Debates Its Colonial Past
23rd February 2022
A statue of the controversial king Leopold II in Brussels could be removed and melted down as Belgian authorities consider how to deal with the country’s past colonialism. The bronze statue, from the 19th century, is located in the centre of Brussels, close to the Royal Palace.
A group of historians, architects and other specialists, commissioned by the Brussels regional government, has come up with two suggestions on what can be done with the statue. The statue could be melted down and turned into a monument to those who died during Leopold II’s brutal rule of the Belgian Congo. The alternative suggestion is to create an open-air statue park to house the work, along with other controversial monuments to figures of the colonial past.
Or they could smear it with bird poop and put up a sign saying Black Lives Matter.