The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, on Friday, July 19, 2024, launched a crusade for the return of artefacts looted by the British imperial armies. According to the Asantehene, after many years of advocacy and calls for restitution of stolen African cultural artefacts, laws shielding and enhancing the illegality should be reviewed to make way for restoration.
Speaking at a lecture in the United Kingdom themed, “Asante Culture and Heritage: Past and Present”, the Asantehene expressed his readiness for an international conference in Kumasi, Ghana, to brainstorm for a solution to the issue.
“I stand ready in the spirit of international harmony to invite the world to Kumasi for a global conference to seek universal consensus on the peaceful and rational restitution of illegally acquired cultural objects,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu said.
He expressed the hope that “in the fullness of time, sooner than later, state authorities will take steps to review laws contrived to protect illegalities and permit all concerned to apply themselves to the rational resolution of the challenge of restitution.”
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“It remains our inalterable position that articles of cultural importance looted or procured in unethical circumstances through the colonial enterprise be restored to their owners. This is the position of UNESCO and the position clearly endorsed by the government of France. We are mindful of some residual resistance but in the main, we will contend that all of us in this room are victims of a system in need of updating
“We are either victims of a system that denies justice or victims of a system that prevents us from administering justice and doing what we know to be the right thing. From both sides, we need sincerity to appeal to our conscience. Nobody disputes the fact that many of the cultural articles were obtained in illegal or unethical circumstances. Can anyone in good conscience sustain the enactment of a law to protect illegality? That has to be a monumental challenge to jurisprudence and I dare say a challenge to what I unshakeably believe to the British justice”, the Asantehene said.
Turning to artistic works, Otumfuo Osei Tutu stressed the need for artists of African descent to be afforded the same opportunities as their counterparts from the West. In showcasing their works in galleries and museums across the globe and opening opportunities to them on the global market.
“African artists need to be appreciated. They have to be seen to be appreciated like all other artists, they can only be seen through museums and galleries. Opening the market to them and expanding the rate of opportunities to them should be part of the global conversation”, he said.
“The quest for restitution should be no reason for closing the market to our artists. On the contrary, it should point to the satellite of the value of African arts to museums and collectors for legitimate acquisition,” Otumfuo Osei Tutu who was the Guest Speaker, stressed.
The lecture by the British Museum, UK, showcased the importance of relationships with international museums and heritage institutions in building new cultural cooperation and exchange programmes.
