New Zealand removes colonial-era captain's statue

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - The city council of the town of Hamilton on New Zealand's North Island on Friday removed a colonial statue amid global condemnation of racism and colonization.

At the request of an indigenous Maori tribe, the city council decided to tear down a bronze statue of British sea captain John Fane Charles Hamilton, according to the daily New Zealand Herald.

The city is named after Hamilton, who is accused of killing Maori people in the Waikato land wars in the 1860s.

Dozens stood around the city's central square to watch the statue be hoisted up into a truck.

Police were not present at the site during the removal process, the report added.

The Hamilton city council received the statue as a gift in 2013.

Residents have pressured local governments across the globe to remove statues seen to represent colonialism, cultural disharmony and oppression.

Similar outcries were triggered by the May 25 killing of George Floyd by a white American police officer.

His death has resulted in a string of protests across the US and Europe.