The US Embassy in Seoul, South Korea removed a Black Lives Matter banner in just two days after it went up.
The Embassy tweeted a photo of the banner on Saturday with the message: “The U.S. Embassy stands in solidarity with fellow Americans grieving and peacefully protesting to demand positive change. Our #BlackLivesMatter banner shows our support for the fight against racial injustice and police brutality as we strive to be a more inclusive & just society.”
Harry Harris, the US Ambassador to South Korea, retweeted the photo and added, “I believe in what President JFK said on June 10, 1963 at American University: ‘If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity.’ USA is a free & diverse nation…from that diversity we gain our strength.”
However, Bloomberg reported the banner was taken down just two days after President Trump allegedly expressed his disapproval of it. Despite interview requests from news outlets, the US State Department did not comment on this issue.
According to CNN, the embassy received a removal request from the US State Department where Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s offices are located. CNN reported the State Department requested the banner to be removed because “Black Lives Matter is a non-profit organization and that the US government does not encourage contributions to the group or promote any specific organization.”
In response, Ambassador Harry Harris told NPR that the only reason the US embassy hung the Black Lives Matter banner was to deliver “a message of solidarity with Americans concerned with racism, especially racial violence against African Americans.”
In a embassy statement Harris stressed, “However, the Ambassador’s intent was not to support or encourage donations to any specific organization To avoid the misperception that American taxpayer dollars were spent to benefit such organizations, he directed that the banner be removed. This in no way lessens the principles and ideals expressed by raising the banner, and the Embassy will look for other ways to convey fundamental American values in these times of difficulty at home,”
A week before the banner came down, approximately 100 demonstrators marched through downtown Seoul. Holding slogans such as “Koreans for Black Lives Matter” and “Stop state violence against the People”, Koreans shared their support for the anti-racist campaign.
Shim Ji-hoon, the rally’s organizer told Washington Post that the US Embassy’s move was a “pleasant surprise.” “While I welcome the Seoul Embassy’s show of solidarity, I cannot but see an irony here. It makes me question, are American diplomats in Seoul breaking away from President Trump,” he said.
The Embassy also removed a rainbow flag in support of LGBTQ rights. Instead, a “We will not forget” banner, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Korean War, has been placed.
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