JAKARTA - The Ministry of Culture has begun to encourage more aggressive steps in an effort to repatriate Indonesian cultural objects from abroad. The focus is no longer just waiting, but mapping the collection, strengthening research, and opening a more targeted diplomatic path.
This emerged in a coordination meeting of the Ministry of Culture's Repatriation Team in Jakarta, Tuesday, April 14, which was led by Minister of Culture Fadli Zon.
Fadli emphasized that repatriation is aimed at returning Indonesian cultural objects obtained illegally, especially those taken out during the colonial period. Therefore, he asked for a more proactive and data-based approach, including mapping museums abroad that store collections related to Indonesia.
According to Fadli, the traces of Indonesian artifacts have actually been recorded in books, archives, and museum catalogs, even to the registration number of the collection. This data is considered important to strengthen the footing of research and diplomacy.
The government will also clearly distinguish between collections obtained as gifts and collections resulting from confiscation. This distinction is considered important so that the repatriation step remains strong historically, but does not ignore relations with partner countries. Mutual benefit cooperation options are also beginning to be mapped.
Director General of Diplomacy, Promotion, and Cultural Cooperation Endah T.D. Retnoastuti said Indonesia has undertaken intensive dialogue with a number of partner countries. This channel is not only for negotiations, but also to read the experiences of other countries in dealing with the issue of repatriation.
The Expert Staff of the Minister of Culture for Inter-Institutional Relations, Ismunandar, said that the development in each country is different. In the Netherlands, the repatriation process is still awaiting a follow-up recommendation for a number of collections. Belgium is said to have responded positively. Meanwhile, in the UK, the government is still reviewing rules related to state-owned collections.
Advisor to the Minister of Culture and member of the Repatriation Team, Putu Supadma Rudana, assessed that public communication needed to be strengthened so that the public understood the achievements that had been achieved. He also emphasized the importance of strengthening the government to government work scheme so that this effort would not be interrupted in the middle of the road.
Member of the Bambang Sunarto Repatriation Team added that research on the origin of the collection or provenance needs to be strengthened to confirm the historical basis of the ownership of cultural objects. According to Bambang, every repatriation claim must be supported by strong academic evidence, including through cooperation with campuses and the collection of oral history in the community.
This meeting emphasized that repatriation is not only about returning objects, but also reclaiming the Indonesian historical narrative that has long been scattered abroad.
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