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‘Genocide’: Will Iconic Barcelona Monument Resist Calls for its Destruction?

© Flickr / Henri BergiusColumbus Statue, Barcelona, Spain
Columbus Statue, Barcelona, Spain - Sputnik International
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Three representatives of a Barcelona branch of the pro-Catalan independence Candidatura d'Unitat Popular (CUP) party have called for a statue of Christopher Columbus to be removed, as it “praises the conquest of America.”

People hold Catalan separatist flags known as Esteladas during a gathering to mark the Catalonia day Diada in central Barcelona, Spain, September 11, 2016. - Sputnik International
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The members of CUP Capgirem have stirred controversy by calling for the dismantling of one of the city's most iconic landmarks. The initiative will be officially introduced Friday.

Proponents say the statue, in place since 1888, symbolizes colonialism, oppression and segregation of the indigenous and African-American peoples of America. The CUP Capgirem representatives say the statue should be removed, along with the base, as it pays homage to Columbus' colleagues and patrons, including King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella.

According to the proposal, the Columbus statue should be moved to a museum "to help an understanding of history," and be replaced with a memorial to victims of oppression, celebrating resistance to colonialism and imperialism.

Catalan pro-independence supporters hold a giant estelada (Catalan separatist flag) during a demonstration called Via Lliure a la Republica Catalana (Way of Freedom for the Republic of Catalonia) on the Diada de Catalunya (Catalunya's National Day) in Barcelona, Spain, September 11, 2015. - Sputnik International
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Other statues proposed for dismantling include a statue of Antonio López, Marquis of Comillas, a well-known slave trader. The Lopez statue would also be replaced with a memorial, but for victims of the slave trade, according to the trio.

Party members, alongside their demands for the removal and replacement of the statues, are also calling for Columbus Day, celebrated on October 12, to be struck from the calendar, as the date not only marks "an intolerable act of colonialism and imperialism," but also, "the genocide of the indigenous American population by colonist-conquistadors, and an act of aggressive Spanish nationalism against all the peoples that it oppresses and has oppressed."

The demands enjoy support. Last year, Barcelona mayor Ada Colau said the country would not be marking Columbus Day, "a genocide" in his terms, with a $900,000 military parade.

Cádiz mayor José María González tweeted: "We never discovered America; we massacred and suppressed a continent and its cultures in the name of God."

The initiative has been met with criticism as well, particularly from the liberal Convergència Democràtica de Catalunya (CDC) party branch. According to councillor Joaquim Forn, "the city has other problems to face at the moment" such as "the raising of rents and unemployment" and described the proposal as "frivolous."

The unionist Ciutadans party refused to support the proposal and accused CUP of "mixing up changes with nonsense."

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