16.02.2011, 11:15 5289

Manneken Pis statue stolen

The statue of Manneken Pis, a miniature fountain-sculpture, has been stolen from the central square in the East Flemish town of Geraardsbergen, Kazakhstan today reports.

Almaty. February 16. Kazakhstan Today - The statue of Manneken Pis, a miniature fountain-sculpture, has been stolen from the central square in the East Flemish town of Geraardsbergen, Kazakhstan today reports.

The statue of Manneken Pis in the East Flemish town of Geraardsbergen disappeared from its plinth early on Monday morning. An as yet unknown organisation, the Liberation Front, says that it is holding the wee fellow, Flanders.news.be reported.

An eyewitness has, meanwhile, confirmed that he saw two men removing the statue from its plinth early on Monday. He thought that the two men were municipal workers.

Responsibility for the kidnap of the Manneken, a statue of a little boy passing water, has been claimed by an organisation calling itself the 'Liberation Front'. They have sent a letter to the mayor of Geraardsbergen setting out why they have taken this action.

The organisation is upset because a recent TV programme claimed that the statue of Manneken Pis in Brussels was older than the one in Geraardsbergen. It is also angry because the city authorities failed to respond to untruth.

The Liberation Front has given a commitment that it will not maltreat the statue.

The Manneken Pis statue that was stolen in Geraardsbergen dates from 1459. It replaced one that was stolen by people from Ghent, a rival city at this time. The slightly more famous one in Brussels dates from 1619.

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