(1 Feb 2009)
February 1, 2009
1. Wide of cars driving through central Tikrit, mosque in background
2. Wide of mosque
3. Exterior of orphanage where shoe sculpture was set up to honour Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US President George W. Bush
4. Close of rubble littering ground after removal of sculpture, tilt up to wide of area
5. Children gathered round what remains of sculpture after its removal
6. Child sitting on sculpture
7. Wide of site where sculpture once stood
8. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Young boy, no name given:
''Policemen came here and destroyed the monument that represented the shoe which Muntadhar al-Zeidi had thrown (at former US President George W. Bush). I don't why.''
FILE: recent, exact date unknown
9. Wide of sculpture
10. Various of sculpture
11. Children clapping and singing next to sculpture
STORYLINE:
A sculpture set up to honour the Iraqi journalist who threw his shoes at former US President George W. Bush has been removed.
The sofa-sized shoe statue was formally unveiled to the public last Thursday, next to an orphanage in the hometown of the former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, Tikrit.
But the statue was taken down on Saturday after Iraqi police told the orphanage director the statue had to be removed because government property should not be used for something with a political bias.
The shoe-hurling by Muntadhar al-Zeidi at Bush during a news conference in Baghdad in December spawned a flood of internet quips, political satire and rallies of support across the Arab world.
Baghdad-based artist Laith al-Amari created the sculpture, made out of fibreglass and copper, as homage to the pride of the Iraqi people.
It took 15 days to complete, with the help of some local children, al-Amari said.
It was seen as a huge insult in a nation where even showing someone the sole of one's shoe is viewed as a sign of deep disrespect, and was played endlessly on television screens across the world.
Al-Zeidi was charged with assaulting a foreign leader, but the trial was postponed after his lawyer sought to reduce the charges.
wacky

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