Some 1,120 cultural and historic artifacts have been returned to Türkiye because of the work carried out by groups from the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Directorate of Museums and the Anti-Smuggling Department, with the help of the police and the gendarmerie.
The groups of the Anti-Smuggling Department of the General Directorate of Cultural Heritage and Museums, affiliated with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, observe cultural belongings and historic artifacts each within the nation and overseas and add them to the nation’s stock. In 2022, 1,120 artifacts of Anatolian origin have been returned to Türkiye from overseas on account of the efforts of the Anti-Smuggling Branch of the Department with the help of the police and the gendarmerie. The whole variety of artifacts returned from overseas previously 20 years is 9,042.
On the opposite hand, 393,544 artifacts in 2022 have been smuggled contained in the nation, making it a complete of 890,158 artifacts previously three years. They have been seized earlier than being smuggled overseas and handed over to museum directorates.
Burcu Özdemir, director of the Fight Against Smuggling Abroad, said that the collections of museums overseas, the gross sales in galleries and catalogs of public sale homes are intently adopted for the return of artifacts smuggled overseas as a part of the combat in opposition to cultural property smuggling. Besides in depth reviews ready by lecturers and museum specialists, hundreds of archival paperwork and criminological information additionally present proof of the artifacts regarded as of Anatolian origin. After ample analysis, the objects have been examined and extradition requests have been forwarded to the related international locations via the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bilateral Agreements
Underlining the vital function of worldwide agreements within the return of cultural belongings, Özdemir stated, “The number of countries with which Türkiye has bilateral agreements to prevent cultural asset smuggling and ensure the return of artifacts to the countries of origin increased to 12 in 2022 with agreements signed with Serbia, Ecuador and Switzerland.”
Stating that it is vital for the related international locations to help the work in a clear method for the return of artifacts to stop the smuggling of worldwide cultural property, Özdemir stated: “The international locations the place cultural property commerce could be made must work in a really clear and cooperative method with international locations of origin akin to Türkiye. Many international locations have contributed positively to those processes.
“The collaborations developed with the prosecution offices in the U.S. in recent years have made a very positive contribution to this process. We expect such approaches from countries that create markets for cultural property trade.”
Anti-smuggling department supervisor Özgür Mehmet Irkin defined that there are three department directorates, particularly the Domestic Anti-Smuggling Branch, the International Anti-Smuggling Branch and the Training and Awareness Branch, throughout the scope of the Anti-Smuggling Department. Each unit works underneath the Presidency and carries out organized technical research inside its personal discipline, he added.
