A golden statue of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently erected in the German city of Wiesbaden has already been defaced. Created as part of an arts festival, it has stirred controversy.

The monument of the president with his right forefinger outstretched was erected on Monday night in a square in the city, as part of the Wiesbaden Biennale art festival. And it has rather quickly seen some opponents to the Turkish president voicing their displeasure by defacing the statue.

Inscriptions translating as “Turkish Hitler” can be seen scrawled in marker pen, while “F*** you” is emblazoned in white paint across the front of the statute. Other graffiti in green paint depicts a giant penis drawn around the statue’s left leg.

A police spokesperson has said the force was aware of the incident, but is not interfering as of yet. A representative for the city clarified later that while the authorities had approved “the erection of a human-like statue and a container,” it was not known at the time that it would be of Erdogan, adding that the fate of the statue would be decided later.

The statue has sparked quite a debate. A manager for Wiesbanden State Theater, Uwe Laufenberg, claimed that the action is perfectly in line with democratic principles.

“We have erected the statue in order to talk about Erdogan,” he noted, adding that in democracy one should be open to different views.

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Some people, however, appeared less impressed, asking whether Hitler’s statue would be next.

Entsetzlich! Im Zuge der “#Wiesbaden#Biennale” hat die @Stadt_Wiesbaden eine 4m-große Statue des Diktators #Erdogan aufstellen lassen. Als nächstes dann Hitler? Für jeden Verletzten im Zuge der Konflikte ist jetzt der OB Sven Gerich (#SPD) verantwortlich. | #Kurdistanpic.twitter.com/cMcDZvAADH — Tobias Huch (@TobiasHuch) August 27, 2018

The case around the statue comes during an easing in political tensions between Turkey and Germany, which is home to more than 3 million people with Turkish roots, after relations hit a low point in 2017. Back then, Ankara lashed out at Berlin over a number of issues, even comparing its policies to “Nazi practices.”

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