Shoe-throwing monument dismantled 24 hours after being erected
Published 31 January, 2009, 11:33
A huge bronze sculpture dedicated to the shoe attack on former U.S. President George Bush by an Iraqi journalist has been dismantled within just one day of being constructed.
The monument in the grounds of an orphanage in Saddam Hussein's hometown was taken down on the order of local authorities in Tikrit, Iraq. Officials say children should be kept away from political-related issues.
The shoe-hurling last month by Iraqi journalist Muntadhar al-Zeidi at then U.S. President George W. Bush spawned a flood of political satire across the media and internet, as well as rallies of support across the Arab world.
The incident finally inspired a work of art. A sofa-sized shoe statue was unveiled on Thursday in Tikrit, the hometown of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. The statue also has inscribed on it a poem honouring Muntadhar al-Zeidi.
Al-Zeidi was charged with assaulting a foreign leader, but the trial was postponed after his lawyer sought to reduce the charges.
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