Province to trace archives

MATARAM, W. Nusa Tenggara: West Nusa Tenggara province has formed a team to trace regional archives in the Netherlands, an official has said.

Chief of the provincial archives board M. Natsir Ipapy said here on Wednesday that about 120 archives and a number of historic articles on West Nusa Tenggara are being kept in the Netherlands.

Natsir said the six-member team was originally scheduled to leave for the Netherlands this month, but to avoid the winter season there, it decided to postpone its departure to May next year.

The team, he said, would trace the archives and the historic articles in an attempt to bring them back to West Nusa Tenggara.

He noted that various archives on the history of Lombok island, King Selaparang, King Pejanggik, and the sultans of Bima and Sumbawa are being kept in several museums in the country.

Natsir said the archives and historic articles were taken to the Netherlands when Indonesia was a Dutch colony.