Unknown people have painted the Monument to Humanity symbolizing Turkish-Armenian friendship in Kars, Turkey, with yellow, green and red colors, Turkey’s Ihlas news agency reported.

According to local residents, the monument was colored either in protest against its removal or to attract attention.

On February 1, 2008 Kars municipality resolved to destroy the Monument to Humanity as not reflecting Kars’ cultural heritage.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan kicked off a new controversy after he described a statue in the eastern province of Kars as a “monstrosity,” drawing an angry reaction from the sculptor Mehmet Aksoy, who says his work bears a strong anti-war message.