French President Emmanuel Macron opened the way to solving this problem in 2017. “I belong to a generation that did not come to tell Africans what to do,” he told university students in Burkina Faso.
A report commissioned by Emmanuel Macron in 2018 proposed the unconditional return of works of art taken “without consent” from former French colonies in Africa. In 2021, France returned to Benin 26 items stolen from the former colony’s royal palace in 1892, including statues, thrones and ceremonial axes.
Germany has also begun returning so-called Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in 2022. The agreement signed between the Germans and the Nigerians provided for the return of more than 1,100 pieces.
In 2023, the Netherlands returned 484 artifacts stolen during the colonial era to Indonesia and Sri Lanka, including gemstones, gold and silver jewelry. Switzerland has returned to Egypt a stolen fragment of a statue of Pharaoh Ramses II, among dozens of other cultural property.
Disputes over reparations flared up in Portugal after the proposal of the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, to take responsibility for crimes committed during the colonial era. “We have to pay the costs. Are there actions that have not been punished and the perpetrators have not been arrested? Are there assets that have been looted and not returned? Let’s see how we can fix this,” he said at a dinner with foreign correspondents. on Tuesday.
In less than 48 hours, two Brazilian government officials commented on Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s statements. Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira cited the domestic policy of “compensation for the Brazilian population of African descent” as an example, but referred the matter to Portugal. On Wednesday, Brazil’s Racial Equality Minister Aniel Franco rushed to demand “concrete action” and announced contacts “with the Portuguese government” to determine next steps.
Portugal’s government denied in a statement on Saturday that it was negotiating reparations, highlighting the country’s “truly excellent” relations with its former colonies.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal
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