May 7, 2014
His Excellency Dr. SOK An, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister in charge of the Office of the Council of Ministers, in the name of the Royal Government headed by Samdech Techo HUN Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia, makes a special visit to the United States of America to attend the handover ceremony of the ancient statue of Duryodhana in the afternoon of May 7, 2014 in New York city with the presence of Mr. Preet Bharara, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York. This visit stresses the importance of the policy of the Royal Government of Cambodia to recover looted Khmer ancient artifacts. The ceremony was also witnessed by representatives of the United States Department of Homeland Security, UNESCO, Ecole Française d’ Extrême Orient (EFEO) and Royal Government of Cambodia.
The Duryodhana statue was stolen in the 1970s in the Prasat Chen Temple of Koh Ker temple complex, a remote archaeological site in northern Cambodia, which had been the target of widespread looting during Cambodia’s two-decade civil war, which began in the late 1960s and included the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge.
In March 2011, Sotheby’s placed the piece on the cover of its catalogue for Asia Week, and a high-profile auction event was set to begin the following Monday in New York.
EFEO research team on Koh Ker definitely help to demonstrate the Cambodia’s rights to the Statue of Duryodhana, thanks to the statue’s pedestals found at the Prasat Chen in Koh Ker site, Cambodia.
The auction day was scheduled on 24 March 2011; however this was stopped as the Royal Government of Cambodia sent a letter to Sotheby’s requesting for the halt of the sale and the return of Duryodhana statue. It should be recalled this initiative was originated from the fruitful discussion between H.E. Chan Tani, Secretary of State of the Office of the Council of Ministers and H.E. Jeff Daigle, Deputy Chief of Mission of the embassy of the United States of America in Phnom Penh.
In April 2012, the United States Attorney filed a court action in Federal Court seeking forfeiture of the statue and handing back to Cambodia.
The court process lasted until December 2013 before Sotheby’s decided to settle the case by agreeing to return the statue of Duryodhana to Cambodia.
During the ceremony, on behalf of the Royal Government of Cambodia, His Excellency Dr. SOK AN has conferred decorations of honor of the Kingdom of Cambodia upon representatives of the United States Attorney Office for the Southern District of New York, United States Department of Homeland Security and EFEO.
The Royal Government of Cambodia hereby wishes to thank the Federal Government of the United States of America, especially the US Embassy in Phnom Penh, for their commitment to preserve cultural heritage of humanities and their strong willingness to promote the friendship and cooperation between the two countries and to appeal to other museums and art collectors around the world to follow the example of returning plundered treasures to their rightful owners as part of the worldwide campaign for the protection of cultural heritage.
For more details, please contact:
H.E Chan Tani, Secretary of State of the Office of the Council of Ministers
Mobile phone: +855-12-804 699
Email: chantanim@gmail.com