DRC: a Belgian delegation meets the authorities concerning the restitution of works
Sculptures at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Belgium, February 5, 2019 © Wikimedia Commons CC BY-SA 4.0 Jean Housen
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
The process of repatriation of Congolese cultural heritage that left the country during the time of Belgian colonization is entering a new phase.
Belgians and Congolese have initiated direct exchanges to mark the path and reconcile views.
This is the purpose of the visit to Kinshasa of the Belgian Federal Secretary of State, Thomas Dermine.
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With our correspondent in Kinshasa,
Patient Ligodi
Thomas Dermine said he approached this question with a different mindset from that of his predecessors: “
What is very important is not only the moral act, the symbolic act of finally giving back to the Congo what would not never had to be taken. What was stolen by our ancestors does not belong to Belgium and should never have left the Congo and belongs to the Congolese people
”.
According to the Belgian Federal Secretary of State, the approach advocated today by his country goes beyond simple restitution.
“
Works of art are important.
But what is more important is the dialogue and the process of reconciliation between the Congo and Belgium, which have a common past and sometimes a troubled past that we must be able to face, look in the face.
These discussions are just as important as the restitution of the object
”.
Think about the return and enhancement of heritage
On the Congolese side, the experts insist on logistical preparation.
And not only to receive the parts that will be repatriated, but also to exhibit them.
Henri Kalama Akulez, visual artist and chancellor of the Academy of Fine Arts, confides: “
If this place is available, a qualified workforce is also available, the other step will be to have a museum development project.
".
Félix Tshisekedi announced on Saturday, November 20
the creation of the
National
Commission
of Common Policy on the repatriation of Congolese cultural heritage.
For its part, Belgium is notably proposing the establishment of a joint committee composed of experts from both countries on an equal basis, starting in 2022.
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