Statue fight in Indonesia only partly about Obama

Statue fight in Indonesia only partly about Obama

JAKARTA, Indonesia - For Rosono Rachmat, every memento marking a personal tie to Barack Obama is a precious thing indeed.

Rachmat, who goes by the nickname Nono, cherishes, for example, an elementary school class picture of himself standing with the wide-eyed boy who grew up to become the president of the United States. He wouldn't part with that photo for any amount of money, he says.

So Rachmat is baffled by an ongoing controversy over a statue erected in a public park to commemorate the four years Obama spent here in Indonesia's capital, where he lived until age 10 and was referred to as Barry.

The 43-inch bronze statue, financed by several of the president's Indonesian supporters, shows a boy dressed in shorts, T-shirt and sneakers, holding a butterfly in his outstretched hand with the words: "The future belongs to those who believe in the power of their dreams."