U.S. ambassador to Greece Geoffrey Pyatt has posed in front of the statue of former president Harry S. Truman in central Athens which was damaged by protesters on Monday.
The statue is “a symbol of the U.S.-Greece alliance and a reminder of the American people’s generosity during Greece’s darkest days,” Pyatt said in a Twitter post.
As soon as I returned from from Mt.Athos, I stopped by to check on the Harry Truman statue – a symbol of the US-Greece alliance and a reminder of the American people’s generosity during Greece’s darkest days. pic.twitter.com/gIyZJJ61BI
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@USAmbGreece) April 18, 2018
The damage to the statue from an angle grinder used by a protester can be clearly seen in one of the photos uploaded by the American diplomat.
Greek riot police intervened and used tear gas to disperse the crowd and prevent the angry mob from destroying the statue.
They were demonstrating against British, U.S. and French airstrikes in Syria.
The vandalism to the statue was also condemned by the the head of The American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association.
In a statement Carl R. Hollister said that “there are certainly more productive and effective ways to express dissent or opposition than to resort to senseless acts of vandalism”.
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