US returns stolen Papua artefacts to Indonesia

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto received a collection of cultural artefacts from the country’s Papua region that had been illegally taken to the United States, officials said on Thursday.

The handover took place late Wednesday during a meeting with FBI Director Kash Patel at Prabowo’s residence in the Indonesian capital, Jakarta. Patel arrived in Jakarta shortly after talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet concerning joint efforts to combat international online scam operations that cheat victims out of billions of dollars annually. The exchange underscored growing cooperation between Indonesia and the US in recovering stolen cultural heritage and returning the items to the country of origin, Indonesia Culture Minister Fadli Zon said.

The artefacts from Papua are part of the cultural heritage of the Dani and Asmat tribes and Lake Sentani communities. They were repatriated through cooperation between Indonesia’s Culture Ministry and the FBI after provenance research established the objects had been smuggled out of Indonesia, Zon said.  “These are very valuable objects because this repatriation process is part of our effort to restore our cultural sovereignty,” Zon said, adding that the artefacts will be displayed at Indonesia’s National Museum.

Images from Indonesia’s Presidential Secretariat show several polished stone axe heads and ceremonial objects traditionally associated with Papuan societies.