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.