Indonesia mulls tearing down Obama statue

[alienlovechild 75]

JAKARTA — Indonesian authorities said Monday they are considering a petition to tear down a statue of US President Barack Obama as a boy, only a month after the bronze was unveiled in Jakarta.

The statue of "Little Barry" -- as Obama was known when he lived in the capital in the late 1960s -- stands in central Jakarta's Menteng Park, a short walk from the US president's former elementary school.

Critics say the site should have been used to honour an Indonesian and 55,000 people have joined a page on social networking website Facebook calling for the statue to be removed.

"We've been discussing for the past two weeks what to do with the statue... whether to take it down, move it elsewhere or retain it. We're finding the best solution," Jakarta parks agency official Dwi Bintarto said.

Obama, who was born in Hawaii, lived for four years as a child in Jakarta from 1967 after his divorced mother married an Indonesian.

The bronze was designed by Indonesian artists and depicts the boy Obama dressed in shorts and a T-shirt with a butterfly perched on his hand.

"The statue is of Obama as a child, not as the US president. His relatives and friends who erected it said it's meant to motivate children to study hard and dream big," Bintarto said.

Members of the "Take Down the Barack Obama Statue in Menteng Park" group on Facebook say Obama has done nothing for Indonesia.

"Barack Obama has yet to make a significant contribution to the Indonesian nation. We could say Obama only ate and s (expletive) in Menteng. He spent his subsequent days living as an American," the web page says.

"For the dignity of a sovereign nation, Barack Obama's monument in Menteng Park must be removed immediately."

The childhood connection and his knowledge of a few words of Indonesian made Obama popular in the mainly Muslim country of 234 million people.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/artic...hk4Y8UFGhAJkDpg

Here's the earlier thread on this story.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...hl=obama+statue

[Danno 1,228]

Poor Barry, he can't even get respect in his old home town.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Poor Barry, he can't even get respect in his old home town.

Sounds familiar...

[natty bumppo 297]

Sounds familiar...

sorry to hear that steven ... don't worry ... who cares what they think about you anyway. we still you ...

[one...two...tree 2,762]

sorry to hear that steven ... don't worry ... who cares what they think about you anyway. we still you ...

I've always had a certain attraction for engineers with long rifles.

[natty bumppo 297]

I've always had a certain attraction for engineers with long rifles.

reminiscing at the train depot while gazing at the old steamers again?

[alienlovechild 75]

Sounds familiar...

I thought only rightwingers called Obama the messiah? Liberals just like the comparison of Obama to Jesus. It's a way to flatter the former while diminishing the latter.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

reminiscing at the train depot while gazing at the old steamers again?

putting the worm on the hook and casting it out into the murky pond.

I thought only rightwingers called Obama the messiah? Liberals just like the comparison of Obama to Jesus. It's a way to flatter the former while diminishing the latter.

Oh no...the secret is out. We've been doing it in hiding, but now that it's out, watch us deny him 3 times before the ####### crows.

[natty bumppo 297]

putting the worm on the hook and casting it out into the murky pond.

still no luck eh?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

still no luck eh?

just a determined little guppy i have to keep tossing back.

[Craneman 2]

C-4 would work

still no luck eh?

[alienlovechild 75]

Oh no...the secret is out. We've been doing it in hiding, but now that it's out, watch us deny him 3 times before the ####### crows.

Times are tough so you only get 20 pieces of silver.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Times are tough so you only get 20 pieces of silver.

I'd rather hang myself.

[natty bumppo 297]

just a determined little guppy i have to keep tossing back.

poor thing ...

try different bait ... maybe your luck will change

[Darnell 8,478]

That's so wrong.