Vancouver Police have arrested the man who allegedly defaced a memorial to passengers of the Komagata Maru last summer. VPD officers located and arrested Yuniar Kurniawan in the Downtown Eastside on Monday night. Kurniawan was charged with one count of mischief in January, and had been wanted on a BC-wide warrant prior to his arrest.

By PD Raj – Senior Writer DESIBUZZCanada 

VANCOUVER – Vancouver Police have arrested the man who allegedly defaced a memorial to passengers of the Komagata Maru last summer.

VPD officers located and arrested Yuniar Kurniawan in the Downtown Eastside on Monday night. Kurniawan was charged with one count of mischief in January, and had been wanted on a BC-wide warrant prior to his arrest.

The charge stems from a VPD investigation that was launched on August 22, 2021, when the Komagata Maru memorial, located in Coal Harbour, was defaced with white paint, hand prints, and graffiti. The memorial honours passengers who were aboard the Komagata Maru when the ship was denied entry to Vancouver after sailing here from India in 1914.

Raj Singh Toor, Spokesperson and Vice President of the Descendants of the Komagata Maru Society, said when these memorials are defaced, the painful memories of intolerance and racism come back.  

“The defacing of the Komagata Maru Memorial in August last year was a very terrible incident and was a very sad thing to see. For the last century, our families have had to live with the experience of being rejected from Canada because of our race, and it is memorials such as these that help us deal with the pain and damage of racism,” said Toor

“But we do not wish to dwell on the pain of the past. Instead, we are grateful to the Vancouver Police for taking this vandalism very seriously, and investing their time and today police arrest suspect who allegedly vandalized Komagata Maru memorial in Vancouver. I would like to say thank you to the Police for their hard work and arrest suspect who allegedly vandalized Komagata Maru memorial in Vancouver.

“As well, we wish to think about the great success we have had these last few years in getting memorials and displays acknowledging the Komagata Maru incident throughout many cities in the Metro Vancouver area.  These memorials serve to heal the wounds of the families of the victims and help to educate Canadians about the importance of creating a more tolerant society.  

“The memorials we build for those who have suffered from racism are very special places that should be treated with respect by all Canadians. Incidents such as the August defacing of the Komagata Maru Memorial show that we must all remain vigilant and not be afraid of calling out and challenging behaviour that is disrespectful to any segment of our society. 

“The defacing of the Komagata Maru Memorial is a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do, but the diligent work of the Vancouver Police does give us hope that even in the dark days we are still making progress to building a more tolerant Canada.”