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The removal of the most important monument symbolizing slavery in the United States Posted on Friday 10 September 2021. 12:00 AM WASHINGTON - After years of tension over the past of slavery in the United States, a colossal statue of the leader of the Southern forces during the Civil War, once considered the country's most important racial symbol, was removed Wednesday in Virginia. The statue, erected more than 130 years ago on a 12-meter-high pedestal, was quietly lowered by crane in Richmond, the former capital of separatists during the 1861-1865 Civil War. Hundreds of people gathered to watch the event from afar. Some waved their fists and let out jokes or cheers as the massive bronze statue by French artist Antonin Mercier was yanked off its pedestal. The main military commander of the Confederate forces was Robert Lee who fought with the southern states against the northern states that had abolished slavery. And while many Confederate monuments across the United States were recently removed without fanfare—sometimes in the middle of the night—under pressure from the Black Lives Matter movement, Democratic Governor of Virginia Laureate Ralph Northam made sure that the move had a patriotic feel. Memorials honoring Robert Lee and other figures in southern states are seen by many Americans as racist symbols, while others see them as part of their historical legacy. This issue is still very sensitive. In a move that reflects the country's deep rift over the issue, former President Donald Trump condemned in a statement the removal of this "wonderful" statue that honors "one of the greatest strategists." "The radical left has destroyed our culture, our history and our heritage, good or bad," Trump added. Governor Northam had announced his intention to remove the statue of the Confederate General in June 2020, ten days after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis by suffocation under the knee of a white policeman. The killing of the African-American sparked a global movement denouncing racial discrimination and vigorously reviving the debate about America's slavery past. A legal war by supporters of keeping the Confederate statue - the largest in the country - in place has delayed the removal process, which was finally approved last week by a Virginia Supreme Court decision. The statue of General Lee on his horse weighs 12 tons and is about the height of a six-story building. After it was lowered, the statue was cut with a saw from the general's belt level and then transported in a flatbed truck. "Who owns this street?" chanted a crowd gathered on Memorial Street in Richmond, which until 2020 housed other statues honoring the losers of the War of Secession. we". Levar Stoney, the mayor of this American city in southern Washington, said that Richmond "is no longer the capital of the Union."