JAKARTA, Indonesia - A statue of Barack Obama as a boy was placed late Sunday night at the Jakarta elementary school the U.S. president once attended, after its display in a public park prompted backlash in the Indonesian capital.
The re-placement of the bronze statue a week after it disappeared from public view was a low-key event officiated by the school's principal and three local education officials. Scores of proud students had been among the crowd of 500 watching when Jakarta's mayor unveiled the statue in the nearby park in December.
The likeness based on a childhood photograph shows a 10-year-old Obama smiling at a butterfly perched on his outstretched thumb.
The late-night schedule was aimed at finishing before almost 500 students arrived for school early today, not an attempt to keep a low profile, said the main fundraiser for the statue, Ron Mullers. The statue's removal from the park also was done on a Sunday night.
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Many Indonesians are proud of Obama's connections to Indonesia, but detractors of the statue's park display argued that an Indonesian hero should be honored instead. A Facebook campaign attracted more than 50,000 supporters of the statue's removal, and court action was initiated to force it.
Mullers accused them of politicizing a statue meant to inspire Indonesian children to follow their dreams.
"This is a statue of boy named Little Barry who went to this school; it's not President Obama," Mullers said.
Opponents had mixed feelings about the statue's new position at Menteng 1 Elementary School, where it remains clearly visible from the street through a front gate. Heru Nugroho, leader of the Facebook campaign to remove the statue, said he was "not happy," but declined to comment further.
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