Violent protests have erupted in nearly all major U.S. cities after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in police custody last week.
The Polish ambassador to the United States, Piotr Wilczek, tweeted: “I am disgusted and appalled by the acts of vandalism committed against the statue of Thaddeus Kościuszko in DC, a hero who fought for the independence of both the US and Poland.”
Kościuszko led an insurrection against Russia in 1794, after the Second Partition of Poland between Tsarist Russia, Prussia and Austria.
During the American War of Independence, he served as a colonel in the Continental Army.
He designed and oversaw the construction of state-of-the-art fortifications, including those at West Point. Thomas Jefferson called him “the purest son of liberty I have ever known.”
Apart from his military achievements, Kościuszko was also a campaigner for the rights of national and racial minorities, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
(jh/pk)
Source: PAP/Reuters
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