A group of artists on Monday installed a bust of fugitive US intelligence analyst Edward Snowden on a war memorial in a New York park, though authorities quickly removed the illicit statue.
New York City Department of Parks and Recreation employees take down a statue of former National Security Agency (NSA) contractor Edward Snowden at the Fort Greene Park in Brooklyn, New York, on April 6, 2015 The trio of artists placed the 4-foot (1.2-metre)-high sculpted bust of the whistleblower atop a column on a memorial to Revolutionary War soldiers in Brooklyn’s Fort Greene Park, just before dawn.
The name “Snowden” was also affixed to the bottom of the column.
“We have updated this monument to highlight those who sacrifice their safety in the fight against modern-day tyrannies,” the unidentified artists said in a statement to the local news website Animal New York.
“All too often, figures who strive to uphold these ideals have been cast as criminals rather than in bronze,” they added.
The idea for the tribute was conceived by two New York City-based artists, joined by a West Coast sculptor, Animal New York reported.
The website said the group allowed it to document installation of the statue on the condition that it not reveal the identities of the artists.
Snowden’s artistic appearance was short-lived, however.
At daybreak, police said city parks officials ordered the removal of the sculpted Snowden, made of a type of plaster called hydrocal and weighing about 100 pounds (45 kilograms).
And by evening, his bust was being held at Brooklyn’s 88th Precinct pending an investigation.
Snowden, 31, has lived in exile in Russia since 2013 after he leaked classified information from the US National Security Agency to the media, revealing mass spying programs by the United States and its allies.
Đăng ký: VietNam News
