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View all search resultsUS FBI Director Patel returns looted Papuan artifacts to Prabowo
Brought by United States FBI director Kash Patel during his meeting with President Prabowo Subianto were four stone artifacts, including two ax heads, from Papuan tribes, artifacts which previously smuggled to the US.
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President Prabowo Subianto (center) greets Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel (right) during a meeting on July 22 at Prabowo's private residence at Jl. Kertanegara in South Jakarta. At the meeting, Prabowo discussed the repatriation of artifacts smuggled from Indonesia to the United States. (Courtesy of Presidential Secretariat/Kris)
P
resident Prabowo Subianto hosted United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel for a meeting in Jakarta, where the American official returned artifacts from Papua previously illegally smuggled to the US.
The meeting took place in Prabowo’s private residence at Jl. Kertanegara, South Jakarta, on Wednesday evening. Other officials attending the meeting, as seen in photos issued by the Presidential Secretariat, were State Secretary Prasetyo Hadi, Cabinet Secretary Teddy Indra Wijaya and Culture Minister Fadli Zon.
“Aside from conversations as friends, he [Patel] also officially brought cultural artifacts as part of the cooperation between the Indonesian government through the Culture Ministry with FBI to repatriate cultural items illegally smuggled to the United States,” Fadli said in a statement issued by the Presidential Secretariat on Thursday morning.
He added Patel brought four stone artifacts from Papua, including two ax heads, that came from the Dani and Asmat Tribes as well as from a community living by Sentani Lake in Jayapura, Papua. But Fadli did not elaborate on when and how the items were smuggled into the US.
“I think these are valuable items. The repatriation of these artifacts is part of our efforts to restore our cultural sovereignty,” Fadli said, adding the artifacts would be displayed in an exhibit at the National Museum in Jakarta.
The minister added by conveying his hope for a stronger cooperation with FBI on stolen artifact repatriation, with the support of the State Secretariat and the Foreign Ministry.
Read also: US returns two 8th-century Buddhist statues looted from Indonesia
