[MSN] Denmark will ratify the UNIDROIT convention!!!

[Museum Security Network Mailinglist]

"Denmark will ratify the UNIDROIT convention"

This happy announcement was made by Danish Minister of Culture Brian
Mikkelsen in his opening speech at the conference March 9th on Trade in
Stolen Cultural Heritage: UNESCO's Cultural Convention and the role of
Denmark, arranged by The Danish National UNESCO commissions' cultural
committee with Danish ICOM, The Royal Danish Library and The National
Museum.

A committee has been formed with civil officers from the Ministries of
Culture and Justice with the task of drafting the legislation to give the
UNIDROIT effect in Denmark. I am happy to have this result after years of
pressure at the Ministry of Culture, but of course it is going to take time,
and I have decided to keep up the pressure, to maintain the high priority.

Two scandals have had effect: The Lyngby-case, and the Carlsberg
Glyptotek-case, brought up in Watsons book on The Medici Conspiracy.
The Glyptotek has now for the first time given in and sent some documents -
signed by Medici and Hecht - requested by the Italian state attorney; but
today the newspaper Politiken says that more are wanted.
The Lyngby-case shall come to court perhaps next week.  The best guess is
that the State prosecutor will give up the case, and the latin american
victim states will sue the collector. 

Below please find draft translations of some of the reactions of the
conference in the press.


The day before the conference the newspaper Information had a less
optimistic headline:

"Denmark lacks the political will"

"The illegal marked on stolen cultural heritage is flowering, and a number
of experts criticizes  Denmark to lack the political will to fight it.  To
morrow they meet in Copenhagen to put pressure on Brian Mikkelsen.

"Are you robbing the cultural heritage of another people?"
This is the wording of posters  of the Norwegian custom authorities which
after New Year has met the incoming travelers to Norway.  From this year
Norway - contrary to Denmark - has ratified both international conventions
on illegal trade in cultural heritage and adapted its legislation.
According to senior advisor from the Norwegian State Antiquarian Lyder
Marstrander,  the only obstacle may be the lack of political will that
Denmark is not doing the same.

"I do not know why Denmark has not come as far as Norway, may be it is some
legal technicalities.  But from my view - it sounds maybe a little strong -
the case is that the countries should balance selfishness to solidarity,
when they decide to what degree they want to fight this problem", says
Marstrander.

He comes like a number of international cultural-heritage-experts this
Friday to Denmark to participate in a conference to put pressure on Minister
of Culture Brian Mikkelsen to introduce a legislation with effect against
the smuggling of cultural heritage.

Inadequate legislation

In the last year the Danish legislation has shown to be inadequate to the
auction houses receiving smuggled archaeology,  The Glyptotek, exhibiting
smuggled goods from Italy, and presumably an art dealer in Lyngby, having
over 1000 items illegally smuggled from Latin America; but according to the
opinion of more advocates probably can not be stopped by the Danish law all
the same.  We do not have any paragraphs's making owning the stolen goods
illegal.

Merete Ipsen, chairperson of the Danish ICOM National Committee, is
co-organizer of the conference.  She says:  "It would be becoming to Denmark
seriously and earnestly to fight the markets for smuggled goods, looted
antiques and stolen cultural objects, which are growing faster than the
globalization and the difference between rich and poor countries".

Also in Norway the argument to help the weaker countries has been strong
under the acceptance of the Norwegian ratification of the
UNIDROIT-convention, wich Denmark has not ratified, says Lyder Marstrander:
"We considered the UNESCO convention to be too unclear and hard to handle.
The UNIDROIT convention has clear rules of procedure on how to handle return
of cultural heritage, stolen or illegally imported.  We found it important
to maintain the international pressure on the illegal trade by participating
in the conventions and be there when they are set info force."

Peru is one of the countries having felt the consequences of Denmark's lack
of joining the international standards.  Peru is homeland to a number of the
objects found in the position of the Lyngby-smuggler; but has from the
Danish police been told, that they themselves has to carry the burden of
proof that the items have been smuggled.

The peruvian ambassador Max de la Fuente Prem underlines, that there has
been no progress in the case, having been under research for more than a
year:

"We have not moved an inch.  There is a need for political will in Denmark
to do, what must be done, implement the legislation and ratify the necessary
conventions.  The juridical question is the minor part of the case; what is
lacking is a Danish political will to take the steps the international
society expects from you" says the ambassador.

The Danish Ministry of Culture has for many years declined that Denmark
needed anything but our national legislation to play our part against the
global, illegal marked on cultural heritage, which  according to INTERPOL is
only exceeded in value by the trade in arms and narcotics.  But the Minister
of Culture Brian Mikkelsen has after Informations revelations of the
handling of smugled cultural heritage in Danish museums and auction houses
established a  commission to consider the case.

Frank Rechendorff Møller of the Danish Cultural Board - Kulturarvsstyrelsen
- said, that the working hypotesis of the commission is to adapt the
UNIDROIT convention, if no legal obstacles  appear".

Crocodile-tears

The dutch professor Susan Legêne does not give much for this reservation.
She also takes part in the conference at the National Museum:
"SIDES-convention to protect endangered animals (ratified by Denmark red.)
is the proof that you can make it illegal to hold illegal items.  That means
that the burden of proof lies with the person holding the object, in stead
of the country having been robbed. And that is what is needed, if the
smuggling of cultural heritage should be stopped.  It always surprises me,
when people says it is hard to do anything against is, the SIDES-convention
is the proof, that it can very well be done.  Those saying anything else are
crying crocodile tears" says Susan Legêne.

by Lotte Folke Kaarsholm, Information March 8th 2007

after the conference:

Denmark will sign UN-convention

Illegal trade,  Information, March 10-11th 2007 by Charlotte Aagaard & Lotte
Folke Kaarsholm

Fine, but far from enough to stop the considerable trade in stolen cultural
heritage, says experts.

Excellent, Good, Outstanding.  The Minister of Culture Brian Mikkelsen  got
lots of roses, after he yesterday announced, that Denmark intends to sign
the so called UNIDROIT convention, making it easier to other countries to
have their stolen cultural objects returned.  It is an excellent step, but
far from enough to stop the lucrative trade in smuggled goods going on in
the Danish auction houses, by Danish antique dealers and at the internet, is
the unanimous judgement from Danish and foreign cultural-heritage experts.

Instead they call for legislation, forbidding possessing as well as dealing
and import of cultural objects without legal provenience.

A Danish market

The auction house of Bruun Rasmussen does it.  Laurits.com does it.   The
antique dealers does is.  Every day the Danish art dealers are making many
hundred thousands of kroner by dealing in smuggled archaeological finds from
Cambodia, China, Afghanistan, Columbia and other countries, where the
authorities are not able to stop the looting of the cultural heritage.

More international experts of the large scaled conference, hosted yesterday
by the National Museum, confirmed that Denmark is a base to a considerable
illegal trade in stolen cultural objects from the whole world.

The professor of archaeology Staffan Lundén from the University of
Gothenburg has no doubt, that Denmark is a relatively large marked.

"We know that far the most archaeological objects being traded comes from
illegal diggings, and that is also the case in Denmark" he says and refer to
a number of spot tests
he made in the autumn 2006 together with Information.


It then was shown, that the estimated auction houses like Bruun-Rasmussen,
Ellekilde and Laurits.com were willing to sell illegal archaeological
findings from China.  Also at the antique dealers is the moral questionable
estimates Steffan Lundén.

"It is not a coincidence, that I at a dealer north of Copenhagen found a
total of 10 stolen stone sculptures from Cambodia.  It shows that there is a
marked for the sort in Denmark" he says.

The expert of the State Police on illegal trade in cultural heritage Kjeld
Agerskov Petersen confirms that the Danish authorities have a very hard time
to stop the illegal trade.

"There is a large market for these objects.  It shows clearly from the
international databases on stolen objects, we have access to.  The objects
are smuggled into Denmark, and in almost all the cases, when  stopped by the
custom  the result is that the objects must be returned to the dealer
without consequences but a bill from the custom authorities" he says.

Too little too late

Agerskov is one of those asking for a sharper Danish legislation.

"There is a very clear need that besides the UNIDROIT convention a concrete
Danish legislation must follow up, if we shall be able to interfere.  The
Police very much wants to be able to react, but we can not, if the
paragraphs are not there" he says.

The Director of the National Museum Carsten U. Larsen means, that there is a
need for a general prohibition against trade in archaeological objects the
provenience of which is not documented.

"I would welcome a total ban against trade in objects more that 100 years
old, unless the owner can prove the legal provenience" he says referring to
the fact that that is already the case on trade in Danish cultural objects.

The Director of the Royal Library Erland Kolding Nielsen agrees.

"It is my personal opinion, that you ought to criminalize possession of
illegally excavated and exported cultural objects" he says.

A such initiative would make is possible to prosecute a number of the Danes,
who have been in the search-light of the police.

More of the international experts of the conference underlined the Norwegian
ban against import of cultural objects with not documented provenience as a
model.

The British journalist Peter Watson, who has unveiled an considerable ring
of smugglers, i.a. pointed at a relatively new British law, forbidding
owning and trading in cultural objects of  tainted origin.

The leading lady of the conference, Lise Lundbaek from the Danish UNESCO
commission agrees totally.

"It has to be forbidden to hold/own, deal, import and export stolen cultural
heritage.  Otherwise it is impossible to stop it effectively" she says.

The Minister of Culture is expected to produce a paper within a month on the
need to a covering Danish legislation.