Indonesia Receives Hundreds of Colonial-era Treasures from Netherlands
- U-Report
Leiden – The Netherlands is known to be ready to return hundreds of colonial-era artifacts or treasures to Indonesia. The handover took place on Monday, July 10, 2023 at the Volkenkunde Museum, Leiden, the Netherlands.
Indonesia was represented by the Director General of Culture of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology, Hilmar Farid.
Meanwhile, the Netherlands was represented by the Junior Minister of Education, Culture and Science of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Gunay Uslu.
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In the same occasion, the Technical Arrangements and Recognition of Transfer of Rights from the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the Republic of Indonesia were also signed.
Indonesia welcomes the return of historical objects by the Netherlands. The government promises to take good care of the collections.
"Indonesia, in this case the Directorate General of Culture of the Ministry of Culture, will conserve and make the best use of these cultural objects," Hilmar Farid said in a written statement, on Monday.
Farid said the repatriation of the Indonesian collection in the Netherlands could be carried out thanks to the cooperation and hard work of the two repatriation committees, as well as the support of both governments.
"The Director General of Culture of the Indonesian Ministry of Education and Culture initiated the formation of the Indonesian Repatriation Team and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science of the Kingdom of the Netherlands," he stated.
He also assessed that cooperation between the two countries in the field of repatriation is developing in a positive direction, by developing museum cooperation programs, and research involving experts from both countries, as well as developing scholarship programs for scholars conducting research in the field of repatriation of colonial relics.
"This repatriation project is an important momentum, to foster mutual understanding and equality between the two nations."
The handover ceremony was attended by Indonesian Ambassador to the Kingdom of the Netherlands Mayerfas, Chairman of the Indonesian Collection Repatriation Team in the Netherlands I Gusti Agung Wesaka Puja, Secretary of the Repatriation Team Bonnie Triyana, the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and historians and museum experts in the Netherlands.
