Cofiwch Dryweryn mural vandalised with swastika and white power symbol

The Cofiwch Dryweryn mural was vandalised with a swastika and a white power symbol this morning.

Ceredigion Senedd Member Elin Jones said the graffiti was “disgusting”.

“Police are aware of the swastika on the Cofiwch Dryweryn wall,” she said. “If you have information, tell the police. This is not a prank – it is sinister and dangerous.”

She later posted a tweet noting that the mural had been restored.

Cofiwch Dryweryn yn goroesi! Diolch @CSCeredigion @DyfedPowys a phawb.
Wal Tryweryn restored and hateful, racist symbols removed. pic.twitter.com/t7JEXvLKuA

— Elin Jones (@ElinCeredigion) June 30, 2020

The vandalism on the mural near Llanrhystud was spotted by photographer Marian Delyth from Aberystwyth.

“Noticed whilst passing that the memorial wall Cofiwch Dryweryn has been a target of vandalism once more – of the worst kind!” she said.

“Thanks for the positive and kind message of thanks for the NHS on the banner. Let’s concentrate on that.”

Earlier this month the house of a black family in Penygroes in north-west Wales was defaced with a swastika. A man was arrested in connection with the incident.

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The Cofiwch Dryweryn mural was knocked down in April 2019 and had been defaced with graffiti many times before then.

Following the attack on the wall last year a number of other Cofiwch Dryweryn murals were painted up and down the country.

Cofiwch Dryweryn has been painted on the wall since the early 1960s in a reference to the Welsh village near Bala that was flooded to provide water for Liverpool.

The message was originally painted in the 1960s by young nationalist Meic Stephens, who was determined that the people of Wales would never forget the decision by the UK Government to drown the village of Capel Celyn in 1965 to create a reservoir for Liverpool City Council.

Actor Rhys ap Hywel is also known to have re-painted the wall as a schoolboy.