Illegal trade in cultural artifacts widespread
Illegal trade in cultural artifacts widespread
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The illicit trade of cultural property, which involves local and
international syndicates, is rampant, but the government is
unable to combat it.
Junus Satrio Atmodjo, director of archeology and museum
affairs at the Office of State Minister of Culture and Tourism,
said on Friday that the widespread smuggling of ancient objects
was mainly due to people's lack of concern about the objects,
financial constraints in conserving heritage areas and legal
barriers.
"We do not want to hide the fact that the illegal trade of
cultural property is rampant. It is embarrassing," he said.
Statues, human and animal fossils and ceramics mainly hailing
from East Java and Central Java are among the ancient objects
being smuggled, he said.
He has no data of the financial losses suffered by the country
due to the illicit trade.
Citing an example, he said an ancient ivory rosary from a
Sangiran archeological site had been sold for Rp 16 million
(US$1,700) in Germany.
How ostentatious the illicit possession of cultural property
is can be judged by the display in a four-star hotel in Bali of
at least 62 ancient statues from East Java.
"Where did they get all the ancient property from as the
Indonesian government prohibits the trade of such ancient
property? It must be illegal," Junus said.
Ancient property in newly discovered temples in Yogyakarta,
which remain uncovered, also face the threat of theft and
smuggling activities, he said.
Junus said that a syndicate smuggled cultural property to
Bali, West Sumatra, Riau, Singapore and Germany.
He reasoned that people were more concerned about the monetary
value of the cultural objects than they were about the need to
conserve them as a legacy for future generations.
The government also faces difficulty in financing the
conservation of cultural sites and keeping their contents safe
from theft and smuggling, Junus said.
The operation of a local syndicate is also so systematic that
it manages to evade police and government officials, he said.
Another problem is the fact that the government may be unable
to claim cultural property traded overseas as Indonesia had yet
to ratify the 1970 convention on the Means of Prohibiting and
Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Cultural
Property.
"In one case, a party in the U.S. did not want to return
Indonesian cultural property they bought from other people
because Indonesia had not ratified the convention on illicit
trade in cultural property," he said.
Therefore, Indonesia must always depend on other countries'
generosity to return any cultural property belonging to the
Indonesia, he said.
A lot of Indonesian cultural property is taken to the
Netherlands, from where much of it has never been returned.