Thousands of goods and works of art illegally acquired by Belgians during the colonial period would finally find their way back to Congolese.
The plans to return the items were announced by State Secretary for Scientific Policy, Recovery Program, and Strategic Investments, Thomas Dermine, during a visit to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) alongside Belgian Minister for Development Cooperation, Meryame Kitir.
Dermine, who made the disclosure in a speech to the Senate and Parliament Speaker in Kinshasa added that the objects illegally acquired by their ancestors do not belong to the Belgians and that plans are underway to return them in the coming years.
He also said that Belgium plans to adopt a position from a Congolese perspective: to reconstitute the cultural identity of a people, a perspective that has been deprived for too long of the memory, creativity, and spirituality of its ancestors.”
The former colonial ruler of the Congolese also hinted that the focus is on returning the objects back to their original state or original ownership rather than simply focusing on “restitution,” or the compensation for the losses incurred.
Dermine also added that, as far as he was concerned, the time had come to return the objects looted from the Congo by Belgium during its political ruling of the country, mostly during the Congo Free State period from 1885 to 1908, when it became Belgian King Leopold II’s private property, but also following the country’s independence from colonization until 1960.
The State Secretary for Scientific Policy, Recovery Program, and Strategic Investments, while acknowledging that the colonial regime was a fundamentally unequal political model, stressed the need for Belgium to advocate for a dialogue with Congo regarding the return of these goods.
The Belgian official said though the promise to return the object was previously made by him when he announced the “innovative approach” to the restitution of looted art during his visit to the country in July.
The return plans expected to be translated into a bill and approved by the Belgian legislature would pave the way for a full dialogue with the Congolese authorities.
Most of these objects, currently in the possession of one of Belgium’s federal institutions, are located in the Africa Museum in Tervuren, which comprises more than 130,000 pieces, 85% of which come from Congo, but also in the Museum of Natural Sciences in Brussels.
In the meantime, a study is ongoing, which should bring clarity about the origin of all objects and art, and whether they were looted or not, and what conditions are needed to return these goods.
