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Indonesia showcases returned artifacts it had sought for decades from the Netherlands

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Centuries-old stone Buddha statues and precious jewelries repatriated by the Dutch government to its former colony are on display at Indonesia’s National Museum, providing a glimpse into the country’s rich heritage that the government had struggled to retrieve.

The collection is part of more than 800 artifacts that were returned under a Repatriation Agreement signed in 2022 between Indonesia and the Netherlands, said Gunawan, the museum’s head of cultural heritage. The objects are not just those looted in conflict, but also seized by scientists and missionaries or smuggled by mercenaries during the four centuries of colonial rule.

“I was so amazed that we have all of these artifacts,” said Shaloom Azura, a visitor to the museum in Jakarta. She hoped other historical objects can be repatriated too, “so we don’t have to go to the Netherlands just to see our own cultural heritage.”

The agreement to return cultural objects was inspired by the new era of global restitution and repatriation efforts.

In 2021, France said it was returning statues, royal thrones and sacred altars taken from the West African nation of Benin. Belgium returned a gold-capped tooth belonging to the slain Congolese independence hero Patrice Lumumba.

Cambodia in 2023 welcomed the return of priceless stolen artifacts that had been seized during periods of war and instability. Many of the items returned so far have come from the United States. And the Berlin museum authority said it would return h undreds of human skulls from the former German colony of East Africa.

The Dutch government announced the same year the return of the Indonesian treasures and looted artifacts from Sri Lanka.

Only a few objects made it back before a deal

Read more on apnews.com
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