September 30, 2024
JAKARTA – While we welcome the recent agreement of the Netherlands to repatriate hundreds of Indonesian artifacts taken during the 300 years of the Dutch colonial era, we are calling on the government and the people to make more serious efforts in handling these priceless assets for future generations.
The Dutch government has agreed to return 288 cultural objects to Indonesia during a meeting between the Netherlands Education, Culture and Science Minister Eppo Bruins and Hilmar Farid, the director general of culture at the Indonesian Education, Culture, Research and Technology Ministry in Amsterdam last week.
Bruins said the decision followed recommendations from the Dutch Colonial Collections Committee to repatriate Indonesian artifacts that “should never have been in the Netherlands.”
Among the cultural objects are four sculptures of the Hindu-Buddhist deities Bhairava, Nandi, Ganesha and Brahma. Believed to originate from the 13th-century Singasari kingdom of eastern Java, they were taken to the Netherlands in the first half of the 19th century.
Other cultural objects include weapons, coins, jewelry and textiles from Tabanan and Badung in Bali that were looted following Puputan Badung, a battle between Balinese warriors and Dutch colonial forces that occurred on Sept. 20, 1906.
Previously, the Dutch government had returned 1,500 historical artifacts that were previously held in the Nusantara Museum in Delft, Netherlands following an agreement in 2016. The museum was closed in 2013 due to financial difficulties and had offered to hand over around 12,000 artifacts to Indonesia, though Jakarta opted to accept a selection of only 1,500.
The latest batch of artifacts are expected to arrive home next week and will be showcased at the National Museum, with the government planning to open an exhibition starting on Oct. 17.
The museum in Jakarta is currently closed to the public for renovations after a fire engulfed six rooms and affected more than 800 pieces in September of last year. It is slated to reopen on Oct. 15.
Therein lies the irony.
Indonesia, among many other previously colonized nations, has been adamant about the repatriation of looted artifacts, but at the same time has shown that we are far less than adequate in our ability to care for these historical objects.
The National Museum fire has fueled concerns about our capacity and commitment to protecting our museums. The budget to preserve museums and their collections across the country is minimum, as is people’s awareness about protecting cultural heritage. Meanwhile, thefts of historical objects for personal gain have remained rampant.
That a building like the National Museum could catch fire due to an electrical malfunction has not inspired confidence. And this unfortunate accident happened at the largest museum not only in Indonesia, but in all of Southeast Asia.
Whether we are the rightful owner of these artifacts is not up for debate, but whether we are mindful preservers of these objects remains a question that has yet to meet a satisfactory answer.
These treasured artifacts should be in trusted hands. Unfortunately, at this moment, we are not convinced that those are ours.