by Anura Guruge
on July 6, 2023

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Yes, it was wrong. But this was THEN. Colonial times. Lot of bad things happened. They stole LAND — for cripes sake! Are they going to return the LAND? Of course NOT.

In the case of Sri Lanka & the Netherlands we are only talking about a FEW SMALL pieces — though one of them is this exquisite GOLD model of a canon. It is special & beautiful. People need to be able to see it, appreciate it — enjoy it.

In this case we are NOT talking about the ‘Elgin Marbles‘ or a unique jewel.

Hence my dilema.

The Dutch have these pieces, on display, in TOP museums. Lot of people get to see them — though to be fair, not as many Sri Lankans.

So …

That is my only point. Access & visibility. Are they better off on display in Holland, clearly marked as coming from Sri Lanka, or in a museum in Sri Lanka. Enough said. I have NO say in this. Just voicing my {useless} opinion.

{Aside. Way back, in the early 1960s, one of the many ‘acting’ roles my adoptive father had was as the Director of the Colombo Museum. He was also the Director of the Colombo zoo. Fun days.}