Programs & Events
Repatriation Ceremony for Khmer Antiquity Seized in the U.S.
National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh
July 30, 2007
In a ceremony at the National Museum in Phnom Penh, the U.S. Government repatriated to Cambodia a sandstone carving of an Apsara dancer from around 1200 AD that was smuggled out of Cambodia and brought to the U.S. in violation of a 2003 agreement between the two countries that aims to protect Cambodia’s cultural heritage. The guests of honor at the ceremony were Cambodia's Acting Minister of Culture and Fine Arts, H.E. Him Chhem, and U.S. Ambassador to Cambodia, Joseph A. Mussomeli.
"The U.S. government is very determined to assist the Cambodian government in protecting and preserving its heritage," Ambassador Mussomeli stated after the ceremony. "We're very grateful and happy that our police and our other law enforcement agencies are really focused on this issue."
During his remarks, H.E. Him Chhem stated, "I would like to convey my heart-felt thanks to the United States Government and the American people for supporting and helping Cambodia to preserve and protect Cambodia's cultural heritage and to fight against trafficking of its ancient artifacts."
The repatriated item was seized in the U.S. in early 2007 by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as part of an investigation conducted with the Thai police that led to the arrest and conviction of a Thai national for selling smuggled dinosaur fossils and Khmer and Thai antiquities worldwide via the Internet. Speaking at the ceremony, Ann Hurst, ICE Attaché in Bangkok, expressed her agency's determination to combat smuggling of illicit Khmer artifacts to the U.S. and indicated that ICE expects to repatriate two more Khmer antiquities to Cambodia in the next year.
The 2003 agreement makes it illegal to import into the U.S. ancient Khmer stone, metal, and ceramic archaeological material unless an export permit is issued by Cambodia or there is verifiable documentation that the objects left Cambodia prior to the effective date of the restriction: December 2, 1999, for stone objects such as this. The agreement and the Emergency Import Restriction that came before it were responses to a request from the Royal Government of Cambodia seeking protection of the country's cultural heritage under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Cambodia is the first country in East Asia to receive the help of the United States in protecting its cultural property in this manner.
The U.S. State Department's Cultural Heritage Center (CHC) oversees implementation of the 2003 agreement as well as manages the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, which has funded numerous projects in Cambodia in recent years to preserve the country's cultural patrimony. CHC representative, Dr. Andrew Cohen, said at the ceremony, "Cambodia’s Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts is to be commended for its careful work to preserve Khmer monuments and archaeological sites. The work of the Customs and Excise Department in enforcing export controls at airports and international border crossings, and that of the new Department of Patrimony Protection Police is extremely valuable in the important effort of preventing illicit activity in the first place. We look forward to continuing to work with the Kingdom of Cambodia to protect its national cultural treasures."
