January 30, 2009
Posted: January 30th, 2009 10:53 AM ET
This monument to the shoe thrown at former Pres. George W. Bush was taken down one day after being unveiled in the Tikrit region of Iraq.
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) - The monument commemorating the journalist who hurled his shoes at President Bush was taken down a day after it was erected, local officials in Tikrit told CNN. A huge sculpture of the footwear hurled at President Bush last year during a trip to Iraq has been unveiled at the Tikrit Orphanage complex during a Thursday ceremony. Assisted by kids at the home, sculptor Laith al-Amiri erected a brown replica of one of the shoes hurled last month by journalist Muntadhir al-Zaidi during a press conference in Baghdad at Bush and Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki. But officials from Salaheddin province told CNN that the monument was removed after a request from the central government, which has charges pending against al-Zaidi - now in an Iraqi jail. After the request was made, Iraqi police visited the location to make sure that the shoe monument was removed. "We will not allow anyone to use the government facilities and buildings for political motives," said Abdullah Jabara, Salaheddin deputy governor.
Made of fiberglass and coated with copper, the monument consists of the shoe sitting on a concrete base. The entire monument is 3.5 meters high. The shoe is 2.5 meters long and 1.5 meters wide. The orphans helped al-Amiri build the $5,000 structure in 15 days, said Faten Abdulqader al-Naseri, the orphanage director. "Those orphans who helped the sculptor in building this monument were the victims of Bush's war," Al-Naseri said. "The shoe monument is a gift to the Saddam Hussein, the former Iraqi leader toppled by the United States in Al-Zaidi marked his 30th birthday in jail earlier this month. One of his brothers told CNN he "in good health and is being treated well." Al-Zaidi's employer, TV network al-Baghdadia, keeps a picture of him at the top left side of the screen with a calendar showing the number of days he has spent in detention. The network has been calling for his release. By tradition, throwing a shoe, is the most insulting act in the Arab world. –CNN's Mohammed Tawfeeq contributed to this story Filed under: Iraq President George W. Bush |
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