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Feature: Cambodia welcomes back looted monkey god statue

Xinhua, May 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

Cambodia on Tuesday held an official ceremony to welcome the return of a stolen statue of the Hindu monkey god Hanuman after it had been exhibited in the Cleveland Museum of Art in Ohio of the United States for 33 years.

The 10th century sandstone sculpture, 1.1 meters height and weighing 370 kilograms, was airlifted to Cambodia from the United States on Sunday.

Speaking at the official welcome-home ceremony, Deputy Prime Minister and Cabinet Minister Sok An said the sculpture was looted from Koh Ker Temple in northern Preah Vihear province at the time of Cambodia's civil war in the 1970s and it had been displayed in the Cleveland Museum of Art since 1982.

"His body had been severed from his pedestal, transported across the border, shipped to Europe, and then to the United States. Now, after his long journey, he is finally back in his homeland," he said. "I am sure that, if Hanuman were alive, we would see a smile on his face showing his joy at being here among us where he belongs."

Sok An said that the homecoming of Hanuman has once again showed the tireless efforts of the Cambodian government in protecting the country's cultural heritage.

"The Cambodian government appeals to other museums and collectors around the world to follow the example of returning plundered treasures to their rightful owners," said Sok An. "We call upon the world, especially those active in the fields of art and culture, to begin treating the illicit trade of cultural property as a serious crime, which is destroying our cultural heritage and invaluable to all humanity."

William Griswold, director of the Cleveland Museum of Art, said the museum has voluntarily agreed to return the statue to Cambodia.

"The return of the Hanuman will facilitate Cambodia's plans to reconstruct a most important Khmer temple. Furthermore, this gesture paves the way for future cooperation between Cambodia and the Cleveland Museum of Art," he said.

Chan Tani, a secretary of state at the Cambodia's Council of Ministers, said the Hanuman statue will be exhibited at the National Museum in Phnom Penh after its renovation and installation on its original pedestal.

According to the official, the Cleveland Museum of Art agreed to return the statue after Cambodia presented concrete evidence to prove that the statue had been looted from Cambodia during the civil war.

He said the solid evidence was a link between the statue's pedestal still in place in Cambodia and the looted statue.

In recent years, Cambodia has successfully pressed for the return of several antique figures looted from Koh Ker Temple and eventually sold to U.S. auction houses and museums. Since June 2013 to date, six ancient statues, which were looted from Cambodia in the 1970s, had been repatriated from the United States to Cambodia. Endi