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January 30, 2016

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Fury over decision to keep statue

A statue at Oxford University of 19th-century British imperialist Cecil Rhodes will not be taken down despite protests, the college at the center of the dispute said yesterday, to the fury of campaigners.

鈥淔ollowing careful consideration, the college鈥檚 governing body has decided that the statue should remain in place,鈥 Oriel College said in a statement.

But it denied newspaper reports that it feared losing donations worth some US$140 million if it did take the statue down.

Rhodes 鈥 a white supremacist like many builders of the British empire 鈥 gave his name to the territories of Rhodesia, now Zimbabwe and Zambia, and founded the De Beers diamond company.

The tycoon was also a donor to Oriel, one of Oxford鈥檚 38 colleges, and endowed the Rhodes Scholarship, which has helped non-British students like former US president Bill Clinton and ex-Australian prime minister Tony Abbott study at the prestigious university.

Inspired by the 鈥淩hodes Must Fall鈥 campaign, which prompted the removal of the University of Cape Town鈥檚 Rhodes statue last year, many current students objected to the presence of his statue in the historic English city.

The 鈥淩hodes Must Fall鈥 group yesterday called Oriel鈥檚 decision 鈥渙utrageous, dishonest, and cynical, adding:

鈥淭his is not over. We will be redoubling our efforts and meeting over the weekend to discuss our next actions.鈥

Oriel responded to critics by saying: 鈥淭he recent debate has underlined that the continuing presence of these historical artefacts is an important reminder of the complexity of history and of the legacies of colonialism still felt today.鈥


 

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