Defence Minister Anita Anand says she’s “disturbed” by images circulating online, in which a man can be seen desecrating the Tomb of the Unknown Solider with a flag.
The flag, a blend of both the Canadian and American flags, can be seen spread on top of the monument in downtown Ottawa in screengrabs circulated on Twitter that appear to be from a since-deleted TikTok video.
The Tomb of the Unknown Solider commemorates all of the Canadian war dead whose bodies were never recovered. The monument is a hallowed space in the nation’s capital, and marks the site of Ottawa’s annual Remembrance Day events. Read more: Convoy protesters tear down fence protecting National War Memorial “I am disturbed by yesterday’s events at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier,” Anand wrote in a tweet on Monday. “The right to protest is something those honoured at the Tomb sacrificed their lives for, however the desecration of this memorial is unacceptable and shameful.” The screenshots of the desecration don’t show what is being protested.
However, the Twitter user, who shared the images under the handle @DisrespectedThe, claimed to be a part of a TikTok livestream, and said his friend was “honouring” the memorial.