we sent delegates to negotiate with him to resume his duties. we believe what happened has released him dark from pressures he once had. we told him that we have cleared the field for you, and no one would lay obstacles on your way from this day forward. and also you have the liberty to form the government as you may wish. we will not interfere in any decision by any official. we bring along, oh hello, are you watching al jazeera and these are the top stories this our, the u. s. and french presidents have held their 1st in person making themes, their country's most serious diplomatic dispute in years, shall barden acknowledge the handling of a recent security agreement with estrella and the u. k. was clumsy, we have no more moral issue now. why is friends with us in the beginning

region or can we did was quantity with a lot of grace. i was under the impression, certain things that happened that had worked on been clear. france mean global protester being held in 26 countries to demonstrate it to demonstrate rather against the use of fossil fuels. swedish activists gratitude berg has joined the march in london, where demonstrators are rallying between major banks. the u. k is threatening write a check on all a vessels fishing in its waters. if france goes ahead with a series of propose sanctions, yes, quite a dispute is linked to a host that fishing agreements. european commission has reportedly suspended funding to the world health organizations operations in democratic republic of congo. that's after an independent inquiry found more than i see

a work this summer from work heard the w h o. sexually exploited and abused women during the response to the outbreak. hall in senate has voted to build a wall along its border with bell roofs to prevent migrants from intellect entering illegally. in the past month, thousands of people have attempted to cross the border to enter the a you, the war will be 100 kilometers long and will cost about $400000000.00. and sedans, military chief ignored a warning from the us not to pay the work of the civilian administration just hours before launching a qu, according to us media. washington's invoice for the horn of africa visited costume . earlier this week, before students, military seized power and dissolved the government. those are the headlines. i'm emily angland. stay tuned for inside story. ah.

should stolen african art be returned? 3 institutions in the u. k. and france are giving back artifacts. but some say the object should remain in european museums. so who is right? this is inside story. ah hello and welcome to the program. i'm hammered. jim, jim, european institutions like the british museum and the louvre are home to some of the world's finest art. but some of the treasures on display were stolen during colonial times. experts believe up to 90 percent of african cultural artifacts were

taken from the continent. this week 3 european institutions gave back items stolen more than a century ago from nigeria and been campaigners who fought for years to return those objects. hope it's just the start. but others believe the artifact should remain in europe will bring in our guests in a moment. first, this report from omni dress in nigeria, capital, a boucher off to nearly 125 years in foreign lands. this tolan bronze statue depict in the head of the king of nigeria, and she's been in kingdom, is finally on its way home for more than a century. it's beauty and craft was looked at and appreciated by a privileged view. it has taken companies and communities from white was looted beckett's to get back. this object of immense, religious and cultural significance. on wednesday, the university of cambridge became the fastest you should to return such an addict

. were all thrilled at seeing this, they arrive when the bronze is finally returning home, but were also painfully aware of having deprived it's rightful owners for so long of its presence. and we offer a heartfelt apologies for the historic from also in paris president the man on macro led a ceremony to return a set of 26 pieces of 80 votes stolen from france's former colony. been in, in $1892.00 left continent with icbc, vin france had to act given the fact that 95 percent of the african material heritage is said to be outside of africa. all young people need to take possession of their history to better build their future. there was no reason to condemn the african youth to be denied access to its own history. extra say the event of the past few days are significant. there's some of the potential now through these actions for some truth telling at,

for very even some reconciliation and the reserves. so the significance either of these items really relates to their buy in conic states us that underlying the significance of african arts. but companies and activists are also aware that getting all of the stolen artifacts back could take a long time. the k brunley museum in paris hold some 70000 african artifacts. while london british museum has tens of thousands more. while campaign is a happy with the progress in negotiations with countries like belgium, they're less helpful with others. in particular, they're worried about the fate of looted items in the hands of private collectors. we want to a level nigeria swan particularly did or people to see what belongs to them in objects of flaw history and cultural import us the campaign to return the benign bronzes and thousands of other artifacts looted

during the sensuous loan colonization of africa. ha, sticking a long time campaign as hope the events of the united kingdom and france this week will begin a process that could see the return of most of africa, stolen, historic and cultural artifacts. uh huh. degrees al jazeera, a boucher, many countries worldwide are campaigning to get their stolen artifacts back mexico recently showcase 1500 indigenous rare pieces that were in european museums. it recovered more than $5700.00 items since 2018 museums and canada have started returning indigenous art including cree beaded hoods made in the 18 fifty's, nearly 2000 aboriginal and torres strait islander cultural heritage items had been repatriated to australia from overseas. who zealand has brought back the remains of $800.00 indigenous people after it created a repatriated program to return stolen mary and morty, already heritage and india is still battling to bring back historical artifacts

that were stolen during its colonial rule and independence. in 1947. all right, let's bring in our guess in cambridge, u. k. so nita elaine master of jesus college at cambridge university in princeton, new jersey, chicka. okay. k a. go lou, professor of african and african diaspora, art history at princeton university. and in london, ed cross curator galleries and owner of ed cross fine art, a warm welcome to you all. and thanks for being with us today on inside story cynita, let me start with you. jesus college of course, has become the 1st institution in the u. k. to return a, been in bronze, i want you to talk our audience through just how significant a step that was and what it means to you and your colleagues. well, i think it. thank you, ma'am. it is in the world to return a bronze. it was very, very journey of the restitution, of course,

began in 2016 when some students noticed that the plaque at the bottom of the offer was the resigning in the board of jesus in 2019. we had a policy that looked at the historical, the legal framework by which the could come to the college, $1005.00. and then when i became austin october, 2019, it was the 1st lived on the agenda for society meeting recently the whole front of ship it from the, from the teacher. the last it's college to someone who's been there the longest. and it was very unanimous decision that frankly, it was, it was wrong that we had it and it was the right thing to do to get it back to its original owners. so it was very emotional. and i think that the front i thought right brown's most of the college because i felt like it's when good people get in the room and make

a good decision. and good things happen. chicken from your vantage point just how much of a milestone are these hand overs well it's quite tremendous a wonderful moment precisely because apart from the specific significance of the return of the artifact from jesus college, it very clear and direct precedence for the broader question of the return of the artifacts that were looted and stolen in 1897. if you saw the news coming out of nigeria in the past 2 days, you would see how important this occasion is for the, the name people for nigerians, for africans on the continent and in the diaspora. precisely because it

does begin the process of amending the criminal acts as that were treated by colonial powers by expropriate in lieu team treasures from there is a part of the continent. the been in case, of course, is the most well documented have the most expensive of these acts of looting. but there are several others around the continent and in the home, in the shanty and elsewhere on the continent. so this is a very important moment and i'm hoping that it's only just beginning ed from your perspective. do you believe that this is the beginning of a process that could see the return of many more stolen artifact? yes, i'm not a museum, but they saw from big museum official,

but absolutely believe that i think that it's, it's really not tenable in my own personal opinion to, to retain these artifacts that i mean, particularly the and most of them are in that in that category. artifacts that have extremely dubious you know, we're acquired and most extremely gave it way. so a stolen and in fact. and it's interesting to see how the dial is shift shifted on this over the last. i mean, i've been in contemporary african are promoting it for 20 years as an english person. and i've seen that the sort of understanding of what's, what happened in meconium periods sort of filtering through to, to, to more and more people. and it's now it's now very,

very compelling that these works are, it's, it's, it's a matter of, i think it's a spirit, it's, you can talk about spiritual things, but it's, it's, it's extremely important for contemporary african arses. i believe that some of these works or, you know, that these works are actually where they should be. and i also believe that people talk about sharing works and things like that. i mean, i believe the ownership personally should, should revert to the original loaners. but i also think there is a case for agreements to be made. so that works can be displayed again for periods of time in the institutions of safeguard these work over the years, allowing more and more people to see them internationally. but i believe the principle said than the prince residence, if you like these works,

should be back in the countries to which they they, they were taken a senate. i saw your reacting to some of what ed was talking about there. let me ask you, when it comes to the issue of the possibility of returning looted works, is this going to be more of a case of artworks actually being returned or are we going to see more arrangements going forward, where artwork is shared or lint? i think so i think of it makes but i think it should be the choice of it, but we're particularly with been in bonds in a thank you. that is that to, for my mind oversee, it should be a choice of i do and running. i think that once you realize that once you realize that something is wrong and you don't take them all and imperative this morning, parents are to do the right thing. it has to be returned with no caveats. and so i think i'm a guy reactive because it's used to i'd safeguarding which a in a way is,

is because they're in the possession of places. i do think that he's right though in terms of the simplest things to and anyway, it's a, it's profound thing that the color states it's profound and because we're the 1st to do it. but i think that the simplex of just doing a legal transfer, you know, it's, it's really straightforward. you need to transfer list all the objects that you have and make the transfer of technology and government. i think, well, i know they've been in there playing to build a museum. there's not a lot of plans, rather museums as well. but museums are very mature in the, the, the framework where they kind of learn things around the world. and so that across the world we can, we can, we can membrane and we could see each of this all work ministers. absolutely, absolutely wonderful environment. jesus, we have a exhibition charges to come down is, i mean we, we, we do this with the time gary's work. environment,

sure way. but the fundamental thing is that the, the ownership is now beyond, is on contestable i agree with is, and i think something it was hinting at which was, that is really important for young people to be rooted in their past and to see their past. and in the u. k. in cambridge among then, and we do the old time we want, we want young people to be able to come in and see their past chica. you know, we've been talking a lot about the importance of art and artifacts being returned. i want to just take a step back for a moment and look at the impact of these artifacts being taken in the 1st place. you know, it's been estimated that perhaps up to 95 percent of cultural objects from africa are housed outside the african continent. what does it mean for society to lose so much of that cultural legacy? how devastating is that? well, i think the best way to respond to that is to imagine if all the so

called great museums of europe, where emptied of their collections. how to even begin to imagine the, the narrative. the story is the mythologies that have been constructed around this idea of western civilization and kids are taking to the museums to tell them the story of, of, of western civilization, of europe's history. through the works and cultural artifacts that lodged in, in these museums. and they, you look at what happened with the african continent, the vast systematic expropriation of its cultural heritage. and by the way, one should also pay mind to the other act of expropriation which was the age of lazy and what that does to the continent in terms of taking it

away, some of the best people and minds and bodies away from the continent and how that depressed society and culture across the board. and so if you think about the equivalent of that, which is part of what makes it inside the part of how it society, imagine how it teaches that young and how it constructs its present and future. that without the cultural resources that had been there for the in the 1st instance, as part of how the societies debit low related with other people, that these are incredible cultural archive. so it's, it's equivalent imagining if you didn't have your great libraries

and culture centers, that is part of what happened to the continent. and so the return of these objects sometimes to the original site, sometimes in to new institutions. because africa has also evolved well by these are decades published new forms of charlotte and cultural institutions. they will tunnel these object i read in cooperation of them into the new social environmental culturally missions that africa i'm more than willing to publish in addition to the ones that they have already in existence. that it would mean lot in terms of social reaffirmation, cultural re affirmation of subjectivities and identities of african people, especially in this present age of globalization ad i saw you nodding along to some of what she was saying. so i want to give you a chance to jump in,

but i also want to, after, you know, we're talking before about how much attitudes have shifted around this particular subject matter. so why has it taken this long to get to this moment? i think there has been a kind of denial amongst european europeans about the slave trade and about colonialism. there's certainly been a denial within the u. k. about the impact of our empire and, and our colonial history history. so i put it down to denial really and i think it's, it's been shipped away by, by sort of academics and activists and rice's and intellectuals over the years and the last 20 years, what was once a french view is now as a say's is really right and sense doesn't mean to say that everyone subscribed that, of course, is still many people as unfortunately who are still in denial,

but it can't really be avoided anymore and totally see. so yes it's, i think it's, it's, it's an amnesia problem. and that we, we have, we've made, you know, things have moved on. it's really good to see that. i mean it's, we've got a long way to go. but over the last 20 years or so that i've been involved in this, it's changed dramatically and not to mention the growth of contemporary african oss and so on. which in some ways is the reaction. in some ways i would, i would sort of pause it, it was some of it was a kind of reaction away. i run it from traditional african art because that's what the world's thought about when, when you talked about african, was all about traditional. and there was a new whole new world contemporary african out. and i think what's been going on to

clear the last 10 years as i see it is more and more office you know, really engaging with that with heritage and incredible. you know that she was talking about this incredible richness that the of the archive that is that, i mean, i think about that the office behind me to work he, his house is completely full of traditional amongst other things. so african art. so he has created this kind of museum and breaks than which is his, it's all it is in, it's very lance and he feeds all off of this incredible richness and there are many office. obviously there are many artists like i'm delighted to see that. and i think the return of these things will, will kind of will be a hugely significant when it happens. and i really do believe that, well, of course, returning of artworks and artifacts is that that's one issue. a separate issue is

presenting the artifacts that are already in many of these institutions in the west . do you think that we're going to start seeing more museums, more art institutions start labeling collections more truthfully, will they start presenting more context about the violent looted past associated with these artworks and artifacts? i think so. i think there's a shift towards that. i mean, really, museums and galleries spaces and the houses and universities. they're all that they will have one shared characteristics, which is their places of learning. and i think that as we kind of move forward and be able to kind of research and, and present a full case, people come denying what happened in the past or is just can say, well, this is the truth of this object. this is you more information about it or is the context for it? i don't think there's anything. there's anything wrong with that. me think that

more people are obligated to do. that was a good thing to say that we keep referring to the bronze as, as, artwork. yes. every beautiful. well, one thing that we've, we've realized through this or can, this, is that these are kind of spiritual objects. occur in that we had it, jesus, a emblematic memorialize is a clean mother from the, the warning still family of benny. so it's a, it's natural answers to and it's a, it's more an object them, but most of them, most of them are so they have a different spiritual meeting when different people look at them, which is i think that bring them back, couldn't bring them back to life when the correct eyes are looking at, that's why we keep talking about work right there much. she can are artists and campaigners who have worked so hard to get to this

point. as far as putting pressure on museums as far as negotiating with governments, are they happy with the progress made thus far and what happens next? well, yes, happy is very small, progress is beginning to happen. but make no mistake about it. well, it's just beginning of the, the colors are activists, artists, policy makers that are locked in on those question. there's absolutely no going back. as i said, i have in mind american institutions that have largely played the ostrich in the whole affair. all the news that we're getting these days about risk

of african artist by coming from europe. and so you wonder what the americans are doing to be frank. that's probably the next target in terms of insisting that they begin to tell us what they plan to do about these artifacts that are also in the collections and museums. previously, we heard that well, colonization was an euro p and in terms of africa. and so this is on europe and problem, but this is so nonsensical, you know, really crazy argument to make because germany did not look be an artifact, right? they acquired them in the same way that the american institutions acquired them from all kinds of sources when germany is now returning more of a 1000 objects that are in its collections. and so we all waiting and asking what

these are, the museums across the pilot, especially in the united states are going to do about the not that they are keeping because we will not keep quiet about it. it's a new generation of colors and activists that are very clear about addressing these injustices of history. it's more than a 100 years now and it's about time to begin to take them to task. it's no longer business as usual. all right, well we have run out of time, so we're going to have to leave the conversation here. thank you so much. all of our guests, anita elaine chicka. ok, k r glue and ed cross and thank you for watching. you can see the program again. any time by visiting our website, al jazeera dot com, and for further discussion, go to our facebook page. that's facebook dot com, forward slash ha inside story. you can also join the conversation on twitter. our handle is at a j inside story from emergent room and

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