US: A Ten Commandments monument at the centre of a bitter dispute over the US constitutional separation of church and state was removed from public view in Alabama's state judicial building yesterday.
To the consternation of Christian protesters who wanted the stone left in place, and the satisfaction of people who thought it should not be displayed in a government building, workers wheeled away the two-tonne granite monument from in front of a waterfall in the building.
Chief Justice Roy Moore installed the monument two years ago and stuck to his guns as federal courts ordered it moved, polarising detractors and supporters around the case.
Rev Robert Schenck, a spokesman for the protesters who have prayed and demonstrated against the monument's removal, said a building staff member told him it would be moved to an employees-only hallway, where it would not be covered. It was not clear how long this arrangement would last.
There was no word yet from Judge Moore, who was suspended last week for refusing to comply with a federal court order to remove the monument by August 20th and has promised to appeal the case to the US Supreme Court. He regards the commandments as a symbol of the Judeo-Christian foundation of US law.
The Alabama case has been the latest in disputes over Ten Commandment displays in the US, which pit defenders of the Constitution's First Amendment guarantee that the government will not promote any religion, against Christians who believe the Old Testament commandments should be displayed in schools or courthouses as a reminder of basic values.
Some of the several hundred protesters outside the Alabama building yesterday were distraught over the removal of the monument. "Put it back, put it back," one protester screamed.
"It is a lamentable day in Alabama and the US," said Rev Schenck, president of the National Clergy Council.