France to return 42 artefacts
Friday, 28 December 2007
France has accepted Bangladesh's decision not to go ahead with the display of ancient artefacts at the Guimet Museum and cancelled the scheduled exhibition in Paris, report bdnews24.com/UNB.
France also assured Bangladesh in a statement Thursday that it would extend all cooperation in carrying out investigation into the theft of two rare images of Lord Vishnu.
The statement came while the government has formed a six-member committee to inquire into the incidents over dispatching the country's artefacts to France and submit recommendations.
The committee consists of cabinet secretary, Home secretary, Education secretary, Cultural Affairs secretary, DG of NSI or representative (equivalent to Brig. General) and DG of DGFI or representative (equivalent to Brig General).
On the other hand, a senior RAB official Thursday said a gang has broken into pieces two Vishnu statues stolen from the Zia International Airport.
"We are now carrying out operations to retrieve the broken pieces of the statues," additional director general of RAB, Colonel Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, said.
Gulzar also said RAB Wednesday night arrested eight people with alleged ties to the theft of the artefacts.
The RAB officer said Abbas, the suspected ringleader, led the cartel that smashed the artefacts into pieces.
The arrested people admitted their links with the theft and five of them would be sent to court for confessional statement, Gulzar added.
Gulzar's comments had earlier said the RAB obtained information on the whereabouts of the two missing statues.
"We have information about who took the statues from the airport and the car that was used," he said.
In a press briefing, the RAB intelligence unit chief Lt Col Asif Ahmed Ansari also said: "We have recovered eight broken pieces of the statues. But we cannot say whether those are the remains of the lost Vishnu statues."
Bangladesh National Museum's acting keeper Dr Swapan Biswas said the recovered remains were not of the lost Vishnu statues.
He said the confirmation was based on multiple examinations of the broken pieces the RAB seized.
However, the French embassy in Dhaka has informed the Guimet Museum authorities of Bangladesh's request to send back the 42 artefacts and relics from Paris.
"France takes note of the sovereign decision of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to cancel the loan agreements between the Guimet Museum in Paris and various cultural institutions in Bangladesh," the French government said in a statement issued through its mission in Dhaka.
"We fully respect this decision while regretting the cancellation of an event likely to enhance the cultural presence of Bangladesh throughout the world."
The Guimet Museum has been informed of the decision of Bangladesh and of the request to send back the forty-two items already in the museum, said a separate statement Thursday, issued by the French Embassy in Dhaka.
"The artefacts are being crated. The Guimet Museum should be contacted directly if more information is sought."
Considering the complex situation and the ongoing investigation, the French embassy, while fully cooperating with the investigating authorities, will wait for the results of these investigations before holding any new press conference, said the statement.
However, the Director General of Development and Coordination Cell of the Chief Advisor's office will perform secretarial tasks of the six-member probe committee.
The committee, if necessary, may co-opt more members.
The committee will have to submit its report within 15 days, said a notification issued by the Chief Adviser's office Wednesday.
The work of the committee includes reviewing the contract over dispatching the artefacts to France, to examine whether the existing rules and regulations regarding dispatch of artefacts of the country abroad were followed properly and whether necessary cautionary measures were taken.
Besides, the committee will also determine the responsibility of the concerned persons or organisations if the rules and regulations were not followed properly and recommend a foolproof security system to avoid repetition of similar incidents in future if it should become necessary to send artefacts abroad.
Meanwhile, Cultural Affairs secretary ABM Abdul Haq categorically said Thursday that the two artefacts of Hindu god Bishnu have been stolen from the custody of Air France.
"The statues were stolen after handover to the Home Bound courier service of Air France. That means, it was not stolen from the custody of National Museum or Cultural Ministry," he told journalists at his office Thursday morning.
About 147 artefacts packed in 13 cartons were taken to the Zia International Airport on December 21 to send them to Paris for exhibition at Guimet Museum, but a carton containing two artefacts of Bishnu went missing from the airport.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Ayub Quadri resigned Wednesday shouldering the failure to protect the artefacts.
Replying to a question, the Cultural Affairs secretary said an agreement between the two countries was needed to send the artifacts to Guimet Museum and to maintain good relationship with France.
"The existing friendly relations with France may come under stress unless Bangladesh signs such an accord," he added.
Abdul Haq said he had talks with the Foreign secretary about bringing back the artefacts sent previously to France as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in contact with France in this regard.
The two statues of Vishnu, which were up for shipment to Paris for display at the Guimet Museum, disappeared from Zia International Airport. The incident came to light Dec 22.
The National Museum authorities said the pieces of statues, recovered Thursday from Aminbazar in Savar, are not similar to the two stolen rare terracotta artefacts of Hindu god Bishnu.
After conducting raids at city's Uttara, Mirpur, Jatrabari and Savar areas, the RAB men recovered some broken pieces of statues from Aminbazar area at noon Thursday.
Director (Media Wing) of RAB Commander Abul Kalam Azad said the raids were conducted based on the confessional statements of 10 suspects who were arrested Wednesday suspecting their involvement in stealing of the two artefacts.
Later, the National Museum authorities examined the recovered pieces and found no similarity with the stolen artefacts.
Commander Azad, however, said the search operation was continuing to see if there are more pieces of statues in Aminbazar area.
During interrogation, the arrested people reportedly confessed that they stole the artefacts from Zia International Airport. After heisting the masterpieces, they broke both the rare artefacts into pieces and threw them into a dustbin.
France also assured Bangladesh in a statement Thursday that it would extend all cooperation in carrying out investigation into the theft of two rare images of Lord Vishnu.
The statement came while the government has formed a six-member committee to inquire into the incidents over dispatching the country's artefacts to France and submit recommendations.
The committee consists of cabinet secretary, Home secretary, Education secretary, Cultural Affairs secretary, DG of NSI or representative (equivalent to Brig. General) and DG of DGFI or representative (equivalent to Brig General).
On the other hand, a senior RAB official Thursday said a gang has broken into pieces two Vishnu statues stolen from the Zia International Airport.
"We are now carrying out operations to retrieve the broken pieces of the statues," additional director general of RAB, Colonel Gulzar Uddin Ahmed, said.
Gulzar also said RAB Wednesday night arrested eight people with alleged ties to the theft of the artefacts.
The RAB officer said Abbas, the suspected ringleader, led the cartel that smashed the artefacts into pieces.
The arrested people admitted their links with the theft and five of them would be sent to court for confessional statement, Gulzar added.
Gulzar's comments had earlier said the RAB obtained information on the whereabouts of the two missing statues.
"We have information about who took the statues from the airport and the car that was used," he said.
In a press briefing, the RAB intelligence unit chief Lt Col Asif Ahmed Ansari also said: "We have recovered eight broken pieces of the statues. But we cannot say whether those are the remains of the lost Vishnu statues."
Bangladesh National Museum's acting keeper Dr Swapan Biswas said the recovered remains were not of the lost Vishnu statues.
He said the confirmation was based on multiple examinations of the broken pieces the RAB seized.
However, the French embassy in Dhaka has informed the Guimet Museum authorities of Bangladesh's request to send back the 42 artefacts and relics from Paris.
"France takes note of the sovereign decision of the People's Republic of Bangladesh to cancel the loan agreements between the Guimet Museum in Paris and various cultural institutions in Bangladesh," the French government said in a statement issued through its mission in Dhaka.
"We fully respect this decision while regretting the cancellation of an event likely to enhance the cultural presence of Bangladesh throughout the world."
The Guimet Museum has been informed of the decision of Bangladesh and of the request to send back the forty-two items already in the museum, said a separate statement Thursday, issued by the French Embassy in Dhaka.
"The artefacts are being crated. The Guimet Museum should be contacted directly if more information is sought."
Considering the complex situation and the ongoing investigation, the French embassy, while fully cooperating with the investigating authorities, will wait for the results of these investigations before holding any new press conference, said the statement.
However, the Director General of Development and Coordination Cell of the Chief Advisor's office will perform secretarial tasks of the six-member probe committee.
The committee, if necessary, may co-opt more members.
The committee will have to submit its report within 15 days, said a notification issued by the Chief Adviser's office Wednesday.
The work of the committee includes reviewing the contract over dispatching the artefacts to France, to examine whether the existing rules and regulations regarding dispatch of artefacts of the country abroad were followed properly and whether necessary cautionary measures were taken.
Besides, the committee will also determine the responsibility of the concerned persons or organisations if the rules and regulations were not followed properly and recommend a foolproof security system to avoid repetition of similar incidents in future if it should become necessary to send artefacts abroad.
Meanwhile, Cultural Affairs secretary ABM Abdul Haq categorically said Thursday that the two artefacts of Hindu god Bishnu have been stolen from the custody of Air France.
"The statues were stolen after handover to the Home Bound courier service of Air France. That means, it was not stolen from the custody of National Museum or Cultural Ministry," he told journalists at his office Thursday morning.
About 147 artefacts packed in 13 cartons were taken to the Zia International Airport on December 21 to send them to Paris for exhibition at Guimet Museum, but a carton containing two artefacts of Bishnu went missing from the airport.
Cultural Affairs Adviser Ayub Quadri resigned Wednesday shouldering the failure to protect the artefacts.
Replying to a question, the Cultural Affairs secretary said an agreement between the two countries was needed to send the artifacts to Guimet Museum and to maintain good relationship with France.
"The existing friendly relations with France may come under stress unless Bangladesh signs such an accord," he added.
Abdul Haq said he had talks with the Foreign secretary about bringing back the artefacts sent previously to France as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was in contact with France in this regard.
The two statues of Vishnu, which were up for shipment to Paris for display at the Guimet Museum, disappeared from Zia International Airport. The incident came to light Dec 22.
The National Museum authorities said the pieces of statues, recovered Thursday from Aminbazar in Savar, are not similar to the two stolen rare terracotta artefacts of Hindu god Bishnu.
After conducting raids at city's Uttara, Mirpur, Jatrabari and Savar areas, the RAB men recovered some broken pieces of statues from Aminbazar area at noon Thursday.
Director (Media Wing) of RAB Commander Abul Kalam Azad said the raids were conducted based on the confessional statements of 10 suspects who were arrested Wednesday suspecting their involvement in stealing of the two artefacts.
Later, the National Museum authorities examined the recovered pieces and found no similarity with the stolen artefacts.
Commander Azad, however, said the search operation was continuing to see if there are more pieces of statues in Aminbazar area.
During interrogation, the arrested people reportedly confessed that they stole the artefacts from Zia International Airport. After heisting the masterpieces, they broke both the rare artefacts into pieces and threw them into a dustbin.