The Jakarta government will relocate a controversial statue of US President Barack Obama from a public park in Central Jakarta to his former elementary school, Governor Fauzi Bowo said on Friday.
The 110-centimeter-tall statue of Obama as a child was unveiled in Menteng Park in December. A Facebook group demanding its removal from the park subsequently attracted thousands of members.
The group recently filed a lawsuit against the city to have the statue taken down. Its members have argued the space would be better used for an Indonesian hero, rather than the American president, who spent four years in Jakarta as a child.
“I approve people's initiative to move the statue to SDN 01 Menteng school on Jalan Besuki as its permanent location,” Fauzi said, adding that the city administration would carry out the move as soon as possible.
Obama is expected to visit his old school during a trip to Indonesia next month.
“It will be ready at the school if the guest really comes here and it will give him a special memory,” said Fauzi.
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