London: The management committee of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick has issued following statement after miscreants vandalised Lions of the Great War Monument raised in the memory of Sikh soldiers who fought in World War 1:
Statement from the Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick Committee:
LIONS OF THE GREAT WAR MONUMENT VANDALISM
We are aware of the vandalism that took place on the Lions of the Great War Monument site today and condemn this despicable and cowardly act.
Jatinder Singh, President of Guru Nanak Gurdwara Smethwick was extremely disappointed with the actions of the vandals but remained resolute.
“There was some vandalism to the back wall overnight which is very disappointing. The graffiti was cleaned off and the matter was reported to the police.
Working with the council we won’t allow this vandalism to undermine the very strong message created by this new monument and the overwhelmingly positive reaction to its unveiling.
What makes this incident particularly distressing, is the complete disregard and lack of respect for the significance of the statue and inscriptions, installed recently to commemorate the losses felt by many South Asian families who lost their dear ones during the First World War and mark 100 years since the end of the Great War.”
GNG Smethwick would advise anyone who witnesses vandalism or other anti-social behavior taking place to report any incidents to the police as soon as possible using 101. We are reviewing the CCTV and will be taking the necessary action.
The 10ft Lions of the Great War statue unveiled on Sunday sits on a 6ft granite plinth, is permanently based between High Street and Tollhouse Way.
A 10ft statue of a #Sikh soldier unveiled last week outside Smethwick Sikh gurdwara to commemorate the First World War was vandalised last night and had graffiti written over it – it’s been taken off now but this is what was written. Sepoy is how the British referred to soldiers pic.twitter.com/YdYI8WPlwz
— Amardeep Bassey (@ambassey) November 9, 2018