Culture and Tourism Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy said that Turkey has made a big breakthrough in the return of cultural assets smuggled abroad in recent years.
The promotional meeting of 28 historical artifacts belonging to Turkey seized in the USA was held at the Istanbul Archaeological Museums.
In addition to Minister Ersoy, US Ambassador to Ankara Jeff Flake, Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism Nadir Alpaslan, Istanbul Provincial Culture and Tourism Director Coşkun Yılmaz, Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Major General Yusuf Kenan Topçu and Istanbul Archeology Museums Director Rahmi Asal attended the meeting.
Minister Ersoy stated that they are fighting against smuggling by using a multi-faceted strategy such as education, sociology, law and diplomacy in order to protect cultural assets.
Pointing out that Turkey is also a leader in protecting cultural assets in the international community, Minister Ersoy continued as follows:
“We continue our work under the umbrella of UNESCO and Interpol in order to narrow the market and demand in countries that are markets for cultural property smuggling. Thanks to all these efforts, our country has made a major breakthrough in the return of cultural assets smuggled abroad in recent years. We have ensured the return of nearly 20 thousand cultural assets illegally smuggled out of the country in the last 8 years to Turkey. Today, we have come together to share with you that we have concluded another legal battle. Because we all experience the justified happiness and pride of bringing to our country 28 cultural assets that were unearthed through illegal excavations and went to the United States of America.”
Minister Ersoy stated that after a difficult process in which thousands of documents were scanned and hundreds of data were examined and evaluated, the Anatolian origin of the artifacts was documented, and among the items delivered were 12 coins, a 6-year-old Kilia idol, a neolithic goddess figure, a deer head motif and a rattle.
Pointing out that there are 2 important factors that ensure the realization of this return, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy continued his words as follows:
“The first of these is the dedication of the units working on the subject, both in the Manhattan Attorney General's Office and our Ministry, and the second, of course, is work. The experience I gained during my ministry within the scope of studies aimed at preventing cultural property smuggling showed me that no matter how right you are, how deep you put it, if the authorities of the addressee country are not as open to cooperation as you are, it is unfortunately possible for your roads to be closed in a moment. The Manhattan Attorney's Office and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have demonstrated close cooperation and transparency since the beginning of the process.”
Explaining that the owner of a significant part of this collection brought to Turkey, US billionaire Michael Steinhardt, renounced his right to 180 cultural assets, Minister Ersoy informed that 11 countries will take back the works belonging to their own lands.
After the speeches, the Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy and the accompanying delegation examined the works in the Treasury Hall and received information from the authorities.
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