Benin Readies For Return Of Treasures Taken By France

AbomeyCalavi, Benin, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Jul, 2019 ) :The display cases at the royal palaces in Benin's sleepy southern town of Abomey are coated in dust and the exhibition halls plunged in darkness.

But local tourism chief Gabin Djimasse hopes all this will change with the return of 26 artefacts from former colonial master France and the construction of a new museum to hold them.

"These objects are a chance for the survival of the site," Djimasse told AFP as he toured the vast courtyards lined with bas-relief dating back to the 18th-century Dahomey Kingdom.

"They will allow us to build a new museum and make the royal palaces more economically sustainable." In November President Emmanuel Macron took the landmark decision to return the artworks -- including a royal throne -- taken by French troops over a century ago and housed at the Quai Branly museum in Paris.

The move has piled pressure on other former colonial powers to hand back looted artefacts to their countries of origin -- and fired up dreams of a lifeline in Abomey.

The Kingdom of Dahomey reached its peak in the 18th and 19th centuries and became a major source of slaves for European traders before conquest by Paris in the 1890s ended its rule.

Now a loan of 20 million Euros ($22.5 million) from the French Development Agency will fund the new museum and aims to make the 47 hectare (116-acre) UNESCO World Heritage Site more attractive for visitors.

While Benin has welcomed France's decision to return the objects, it has cautioned against doing so too quickly.

Macron wants the artworks returned "without delay" but the museum in Abomey is only set to be opened in 2021 and Benin's heritage agency says the country needs time to be "truly ready".