Artifacts Returned by FBI, Yet Why Does Cultural Object Smuggling Still Occur?

Minister of Culture Fadli Zon has affirmed that the government will strengthen efforts to prevent the smuggling of Indonesian cultural objects abroad by enhancing coordination with relevant ministries and agencies, particularly the Directorate General of Customs and Excise, the Directorate General of Immigration, and law enforcement officers at Indonesia’s exit points. According to Fadli, regulations regarding the protection of cultural heritage objects are already in place. However, the main challenge currently is ensuring that field supervision runs more effectively through inter-agency synergy, whether via land, sea, or air routes. “Regarding prevention, the rules actually already exist. It is just that this requires cooperation with ministries and agencies, especially perhaps Customs and Excise, Immigration, and so on,” Fadli said during a press conference in Jakarta on Thursday. Fadli cited the surveillance system implemented by Egypt as an example of a country that has successfully safeguarded its ancient civilisation heritage from smuggling practices. According to him, every item carried by passengers exiting through airports is strictly inspected, including souvenirs purchased by tourists. “They are extremely strict there. Upon leaving the airport, all items are checked, even souvenirs are inspected. So many items sold there, such as stones, replicas of gods, replicas of Pharaohs, and so on, are all checked,” Fadli said. The presence of these experts, he continued, allows Egyptian authorities to quickly distinguish between legally traded replicas and authentic cultural objects protected by the state. Fadli stated that a similar approach is one of the models Indonesia will study. In addition to strengthening coordination with relevant agencies, the government also considers it important to prepare human resources with specific competencies to identify cultural heritage objects at various national exit points. “If it is a souvenir, it is fine, as it is still made by our artisans and I think that is very good for collections. But cultural heritage objects are what we must prevent from being smuggled,” he said. Fadli’s statement came a day after President Prabowo Subianto received a courtesy call from FBI Director Kash Patel at the Presidential Palace, a meeting that served as a momentum for strengthening Indonesia-US cooperation, including in the repatriation of Indonesian cultural artefacts.