101 EAST
NEPAL – THE GREAT PLUNDER
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101 EAST
NEPAL – THE
GREAT PLUNDER
TIMECODE |
DIALOGUE |
10:00:03 |
GFX: 101 EAST |
10:00:08 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: Up in these Himalayan mountains, you feel you could almost touch the sky. |
10:00:18 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: No wonder people who live here feel close
to the heavens, and their gods. But
the reality is, there are a lot of very unheavenly things going on here. Thieves are stealing precious religious
icons. It’s a theft not only of
valuable treasures, but also of culture. |
10:00:41 |
STEVE CHAO: I’m Steve Chao. On this episode of 101 East we’re deep in
the Himalayas tracking those behind the theft of Nepal’s Gods. |
10:00:50 |
GFX: NEPAL: THE GREAT PLUNDER A FILM BY STEVE CHAO |
10:00:56 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: The drive into Nepal’s remote region of
Mustang starts here, three thousand metres high. Dusty.
Dangerous. Yet stunning. |
10:01:12 |
STEVE CHAO:
Tashi this place is beautiful. TASHI BISTA:
I know huh it’s amazing. It’s
just tucked away in the corner of the Himalayas you know. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: For Tashi Bista these mountains are not
only home, they’re a place he’s fighting to protect. TASHI BISTA:
I grew up here all my life you know.
I love it. I’m like every time
I’m away I just can’t wait to be back you know. It never like ceases to amaze me. I have like such a strong feeling
belongingness to the place you know. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: A sense of belonging to an ancient Buddhist
culture, dating back centuries. TASHI BISTA:
And like Mustang has always been just a very unique isolated kingdom. And ah until 1992 there were no visitors
allowed into the area. So there’s a
very strong sense of a living heritage that still governs a lot of life
today. STEVE CHAO:
But it’s a religion and culture at risk? TASHI BISTA:
Yes yes. Religious places of
worship all over the place are being broken into. It’s pretty drastic at the moment. We’re suffering heritage loss at quite an
alarming rate. |
10:02:12 |
TASHI BISTA:
So this is one ah Samdalang Monastery. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: Tashi has spent the last decade studying
the region’s religious icons, fighting to protect them, and the culture they
represent. TASHI BISTA:
Go take a look. |
10:02:25 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: Stupas,
built to hold sacred relics, are places of devotion for the Buddhist
community. TASHI BISTA: So look at
this. I mean like this is a stupa, a
very religious monument, that has been broken into. This is this is supposed
to be completely sealed up, and people have ah put all of their religious
sacred offerings inside. But look look
how how vulnerable this the belongings of the stupa are to just anybody who
could come in and try to make away with stuff you know. |
10:02:55 |
STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: Ancient scraps of
fabric and clay statues are all that remain.
The more valuable items, says Tashi, have been stolen. TASHI
BISTA: The powerful rulers, the
emperors, the monks, they were donating their belongings to stupas. So ah they do hold like a lot of ancient
very precious artefacts. So normally
you have ancient thangkas, scroll paintings that are painted on fabric and in
some cases also a lot um metal statues, copper, bronze statutes, dating like
from back in the ages like. STEVE
CHAO: On the black market . . . TASHI
BISTA: Mm mm. STEVE
CHAO: . . . these would fetch tens of
thousands, hundreds of thousands of dollars? TASHI
BISTA: That’s the sad part you know
because these precious items that are such a big part of our living heritage
have such a big market value it somehow fuels the happening of such things
you know. |
10:03:42 |
STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: And demand he says is
at an all-time high. Over several days
we visit a number of religious sites.
They’ve all been pilfered. TASHI
BISTA: So this one right here used to
be a passage stupa. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: Here barbed wire was
put up to stop thieves. But it’s only
managed to stop the faithful. TASHI
BISTA: People would ah pass
underneath to receive blessings during their journeys. But as you see unfortunately it’s not
possible anymore because there’s all these barbed wires that go around to
ensure the safety of the stupa. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: Robbers got inside
anyway. TASHI
BISTA: Who knows the belongings that
they could have made away with. STEVE
CHAO: Did the police ever catch those
responsible? TASHI
BISTA: No, no. Sadly there has been no police cases filed
in any of the lootings in all over Mustang. STEVE
CHAO: Why is that? TASHI
BISTA: There was no proper record
keeping or inventory that could have been used as a reference to file a case
on what has been stolen. |
10:04:46 |
STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: To better understand
what’s being lost Tashi takes us to a monastery which so far as kept their
treasures secret from outsiders. Safe
under lock and key. TASHI
BISTA: Come on in. This is an ancient collection of Namgyal
Monastery. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: Inside are dozens of
Buddhist statues, all priceless treasures. TASHI
BISTA: Look at this one, you
know. This one look look how
interesting and how intricate the patterns, the designs, the details, you
know. STEVE
CHAO: The handiwork is incredible. TASHI
BISTA: It it’s absolutely eh I I I
would imagine people probably spend like I don’t know decades or lifetimes
coming up with these masterpieces you know. STEVE
CHAO: How old would say this one is? TASHI
BISTA: Ah I think this could be
anywhere between 14th to 15th Century. And look at this. Another absolute masterpiece here. STEVE
CHAO: Wow. TASHI
BISTA: Really really ancient, 11th
Century. STEVE
CHAO: 11th Century. TASHI
BISTA: Exactly. So it’s a thousand years old. STEVE
CHAO: How much would this go for on
the black market? TASHI
BISTA: Oh I wouldn’t be able to tell
for sure but ah I wouldn’t be surprised if it fetches a f- a few hundred
thousand dollars or so. But that’s not
the kind of value that we look up to.
For us it’s the ah religious value.
You know th-these these are ah like very important symbols of
something that binds the communities together you know. A treasure like this if taken away would
would be an absolute disaster. |
10:06:21 |
STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: In Mustang’s capital,
Lo Manthang, prayers and religion are
clearly an integral part of life here. |
10:06:42 |
STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: In the town’s main
monastery monks perform the same rituals that have been carried out for
centuries. [MONKS
PRAYING] STEVE CHAO
VOICEOVER: It’s here we meet Chime Gurung, a Tibetan spiritual
leader. He’s also concerned that the thefts
are not just a loss of treasure, they are harming the Buddhist religion
itself. |
10:07:08 |
CHIME
GURUNG: Ah welcome to the Chode
Monastery… SUBTITLE: Welcome to the Chode Monastery. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: Chime takes us to a hall that’s normally
off limits to outsiders. He has
something to show us. It’s an ancient
manuscript. CHIME GURUNG: Every holy script have three different ah
covers. In Tibetan we call them
Lakbum, and then Laixing and Laituki.
It mean, the wood, and the cloth and the belt. SUBTITLE: Every holy script have three
different covers. In Tibetan we call them… Lakbum, and then Laixing and
Laituki. It means, the wood, the cloth and the
belt. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: More than seven hundred years old, it’s
considered so priceless and so significant to their religion it’s never been
shown to a foreigner before. STEVE CHAO:
Wow. TASHI BISTA:
Yeah. CHIME GURUNG:
It’s a very important script.
Very valuable manuscript.
Because all its ah written with the gold handwriting. SUBTITLE: It’s a very important script. A very valuable manuscript. Because it’s all written in gold. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: Every page of Buddhist teachings is
meticulously written in pure gold. It
was rescued from a neighbouring stupa after a break in. CHIME GURUNG:
We brought it into here, because the the stupa there is the unsafe
way. That’s why we keep it here. SUBTITLE: We brought it here, because the stupa
there was very unsafe. STEVE CHAO:
A second manuscript, also written in gold, has already been stolen,
and with it ancient Buddhist teachings. CHIME GURUNG:
If we can’t learn then what is the value? What is Buddhism, if you don’t you didn’t have a script like
this? It’s very said news for us. SUBTITLE: If we cant learn, then what is the
value? What is Buddhism, if we don’t have a
script like this? It’s very sad news for us. |
10:08:42 |
STEVE CHAO
VOICEOVER: Chime is eager to show us
more, but for that we have to join him on a pilgrimage high up into the
mountains. |
10:09:00 |
STEVE CHAO
VOICEOVER: The journey takes us
through more of Mustang’s incredible landscape and sights. CHIME
GURUNG: So these are the Mhazong
cave. The cave that we call before the
14th Century. SUBTITLE: So
this is Mhazong caves. The caves date
before the 14th century. STEVE
CHAO: So very ancient these caves? CHIME
GURUNG: Yeah this very ancient caves,
before Buddhism ah are in the Himalaya regions. SUBTITLE: Yes,
these are very ancient caves…before Buddhism
entered the Himalayan regions. |
10:09:22 |
STEVE CHAO
VOICEOVER: Chime asks us to keep our
destination a secret, for fear we could lead thieves to their hidden icons. |
10:09:32 |
STEVE CHAO
VOICEOVER: Many hours later, we
arrive in a valley, and begin to climb. |
10:09:45 |
CHIME
GURUNG: Now we get to the monastery. SUBTITLE: Now we get to
the monastery. |
10:09:58 |
STEVE
CHAO: Oh wow! Beautiful monastery. TASHI
BISTA: Yes. And look at this ancient shrine. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: Here we find giant
copper statues, including Holy Buddhas. STEVE
CHAO: So that one’s 14th
Century? TASHI
BISTA: Yes. It’s a 14th Century standing
boddhisatva, a very rare piece. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: But sadly even here
we’ve come too late. TASHI
BISTA: All of these big statues, all
their bases have been cut, and the insides have been taken away. STEVE
CHAO: Why would someone want to steal
what’s inside? TASHI
BISTA: Probably in search of the
belongings that are easier to take than the statue itself. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: Tashi says typically
inside these statues are scrolls of Tibetan prayers, items collectors would
pay a fortune for. |
10:10:48 |
STEVE
CHAO: So what’s this Chime? CHIME
GURUNG: Ah this is very sacred room. SUBTITLE: This
is a very sacred room. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: We go deeper into the
monastery. STEVE
CHAO: Oh! TASHI
BISTA: So this is the gongkang, which
means the room of the protector deity.
And the protector deity’s room ensure that the monastery is safe, that
it is safeguarding the monastery and the villages around. STEVE
CHAO: So it’s the most powerful in
the monastery? TASHI
BISTA: Absolutely. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: The irony here is
these deities were created to protect the monastery, but now they themselves
need protecting. |
10:11:25 |
[MONKS
PRAYING] STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: Later outside Chime
and his monks carry out what they came to do, holding a special ceremony
asking for higher powers to keep the monastery and its gods, safe. |
10:12:03 |
STEVE
CHAO: What do you think Buddha is
saying about those who steal these things?
Do you think he’s angry? CHIME
GURUNG: No Buddha’s not angry.
Because if somebody is stealing some things it’s their own karma. SUBTITLE: Because if
somebody steals something, It’s
their own karma. STEVE
CHAO: What impact would you say all
these thefts is having on Buddhism? CHIME
GURUNG: It is awful. It’s very awful, it’s very sad news for us
also, because the if the statue thangka is not inside the monastery how
people they get blessing from there. SUBTITLE: It’s really
awful, and it’s very sad for us. Because, if
the statue or the thangka Is not inside
the monastery… How
will people get blessings from there? TASHI
BISTA: The the more ancient the
things are in religious places of worship the more stories and histories and
ah tales of their worship have been passed down for generations, and so
people just have more faith in it you know.
And and when it’s gone of course the faith is also gone. |
10:12:55 |
STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: We want to track down
those robbing Nepal of its spiritual treasures. |
10:13:00 |
STEVE CHAO
VOICEOVER: So we’ve come to the
country’s capital, Kathmandu. It’s here
we’re told dealers in illegal antiquities ply their trade. |
10:13:12 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Posing as buyers, and wearing hidden cameras, we enter a store on
Kathmandu’s most expensive street. STEVE CHAO: Nice to
meet you. Namaste STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: We’re
shown to a back room. STEVE CHAO: Hi how are you? Nice
to meet you. Thank you. DEEPAK SHAKYA: Right now I have
one or two pieces. SUBTITLE: Right now I have one or two pieces. DEEPAK SHAKYA: This is better
one but this has a little damage. SUBTITLE: This is little better one…but this has a little damage. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: We soon
see he has far more than one or two pieces. STEVE CHAO: Oh okay. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: And they
are all ancient. STEVE CHAO: What time timeline
would you place that at? DEEPAK SHAKYA: This is around
like ah 14th 15th . SUBTITLE: This is around like…14th to 15th. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: 14th
to 15th Century. In Nepal
selling artefacts more than a hundred years old is a crime. STEVE CHAO: How much for
these two? DEEPAK SHAKYA: This one
is ah seventy thousand dollar. This
sixty-five thousand dollar. SUBTITLE: This one is $70,000…this is $65,000.00. STEVE CHAO: Seventy
thousand. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: He introduces himself
as Deepak Shakya, and says his family has
been dealing in antiques for generations. DEEPAK SHAKYA:
Our this business it first start- started by my grandfather. SUBTITLE: This business was first started by my grandfather…this is my grandfather. STEVE CHAO:
Oh! DEEPAK SHAKYA:
This is my grandfather. STEVE CHAO:
It’s your grandfather. How many
years now altogether for the family? DEEPAK SHAKYA:
Must be sixty-five seventy years. SUBTITLE: Must be 65-70 years. STEVE CHAO:
Sixty-five seventy years. DEEPAK SHAKYA:
He’s the one to open the first art shop in the New Road. Be-before there was n-n-no art shop in
Kathmandu. He the first one. SUBTITLE: He was the one to open the first shop on the New Road. Before, there was no art shop in
Kathmandu. He was the first one. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: Deepak also says his grandfather was
called on by Nepal’s King to sell to royal visitors of the country. DEEPAK SHAKYA:
He invite to sell eh my grandfather and his friends all are invite to
ah put the stall on the palace so that the guests will choose and buy it. SUBTITLE: He invited my grandfather and his
friends. They were all invited to put a stall
in the palace… So the guests will choose something, and buy. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: We press him on how he smuggles antiques
out of the country. STEVE CHAO:
What about papers and shipping? DEEPAK SHAKYA:
Shipping is no problem. I can
do. Export paper yes. SUBTITLE: Export papers?
Yes. STEVE CHAO:
No problems? DEEPAK SHAKYA: Can do. No problem. SUBTITLE: No problem. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: By law the country’s Department of Archaeology
cannot issue export papers on items more than a hundred years old. But Deepak says he has a tried and proven
way. STEVE CHAO:
So Government no problem getting these out? DEEPAK SHAKYA:
No. I mean we have to give some
money under the table, otherwise no problem. SUBTITLE: No…I mean, we have to give some money under the table, but otherwise no problem. STEVE CHAO:
Okay. DEEPAK
SHAKYA: I mean it’s not legal. SUBTITLE: I
mean, it’s not legal… STEVE
CHAO: Okay. DEEPAK
SHAKYA: But still I mean we can get the
stamp. It’s no problem. This is- SUBTITLE: But
we can still get it done, it’s no
problem. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: And according to
Deepak Shakya his contacts include some of the world’s top dealers, auction
houses, and museums. DEEPAK
SHAKYA: Many pieces from my hand has
gone through so I have done. And I
have deal-many dealers. SUBTITLE: Many pieces have gone through my hands… I
have dealt with many dealers. STEVE
CHAO: Yeah. DEEPAK
SHAKYA: In New York, many dealers I
know. SUBTITLE: In
New York, I know many dealers. STEVE
CHAO: In New York yes. DEEPAK
SHAKYA: . . . Yes. Ten fifteen years before many Christie’s or
the Sotheby’s, they have many comes here.
So I always deal with mostly with the dealers. SUBTITLE: Christie’s, Sotheby’s…many came here. So,
I always deal mostly with dealers. STEVE
CHAO: Okay. Great.
So like Rubin Museum? DEEPAK
SHAKYA: Yes. STEVE
CHAO: Yes. DEEPAK
SHAKYA: Rubin’s ah mostly my father
has a lot of connection. SUBTITLE: STEVE
CHAO: Oh really. Okay. DEEPAK
SHAKYA: Rubins, Christie’s and Sotheby’s I have ma-many. SUBTITLE: STEVE
CHAO: Thank you very much. I much appreciate it. Really a pleasure meeting you. Thank you very much. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: We leave, promising
to return. |
10:16:32 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
And take what we’ve uncovered to police. |
10:16:37 |
STEVE CHAO: Director. PUSHKAR KARKI: HI. STEVE CHAO: Nice to meet
you. PUSHKAR KARKI: Hi. How are you? STEVE CHAO: Good. I’m Steve from Al Jazeera. PUSHKAR
KARKI: I’m Pushkar, Director, CIB STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: Pushkar Karki heads the Central
Investigation Bureau, Nepal’s equivalent to the FBI. He’s keen to see our evidence. [SHOWS FOOTAGE OF STEVE CHAO AND DEEPAK SHAKYA] STEVE CHAO:
So in this case he was referring to the Department of Archaeology’s
export stamp. PUSHKAR KARKI:
. . . Yeah. Yeah I know. I understand this. He is definitely engaged in criminal
activities. Yeah. He knows what the laws are. He knows ah he has to make fake documents
to transfer them. He knows and he’s
clearly stating that he has to bribe people. STEVE CHAO:
What are your thoughts? PUSHKAR KARKI:
Well this is something if you ask me frankly speaking the police
hasn’t looked at this in in this depth yet. STEVE CHAO:
How surprised are you that this sort of operation is going on right
here in Kathmandu? PUSHKAR KARKI:
Well I’m very surprised. I mean
in a way it’s our I I do admit that we should have been more proactive on
this. STEVE CHAO:
Is it enough for your Force to act? PUSHKAR KARKI:
. . . Is it en-enough for my Force to act? It is.
It is enough. |
10:17:54 |
KABIT
KATAWAL TALKING TO TEAM [Nepali] SUBTITLE: One of you,
Ganga, standby in the car. Are there
any other questions? STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: By next morning Pushkar has assembled a
team, led by his Deputy, Kabit Katawal. KABIT KATAWAL: [Nepali] SUBTITLE: The sensitivity of this issue is high. This is a priority of the government.
KABIT
KATAWAL: You ah you help us to the
shop. The shopkeeper will bring out
every items. STEVE
CHAO: Yes. KABIT
KATAWAL: Which supposed to be. STEVE
CHAO: Yes. KABIT
KATAWAL: And then you can give me a
missed call. STEVE
CHAO: Sure. Yeah. KABIT
KATAWAL: With with that signal. STEVE
CHAO: Okay. KABIT
KATAWAL: I move forward. STEVE
CHAO: Okay. Great. SUBTITLE: You two…you will help us at the shop. The shopkeepers will bring out all the items that he has for sale… and then you give me a missed call. And with that signal, I’ll move forward. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
We’ve been asked to help by again posing as buyers. Our role is to confirm the dealer still has
antiquities for sale. KABIT KATAWAL: Thank you
so much. Good luck to everybody. SUBTITLE: |
10:18:44 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: As
undercover officers take their positions, we head for the store. STEVE CHAO: Hello. Namaste.
Good to see you again. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Back in the shop we again meet with Deepak Shakya. DEEPAK SHAKYA: Two item
have sold. The big one. SUBTITLE: STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: He
says he’s sold some of the items, including the one that costs sixty-five
thousand dollars. But not all. STEVE CHAO: Oh this one
is still here, okay. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
He’s also acquired new ones, including some Hindu artefacts. STEVE CHAO: So this was
put in temples right? DEEPAK SHAKYA: Temples or
doorways. SUBTITLE: Temples or doorways. STEVE CHAO: Temples or
doorways. DEEPAK SHAKYA: . . .
Temple doorways. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Having confirmed that Shakya’s still has idols for sale . . . STEVE CHAO: I’m going to
make a phone call. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: .
. . I signal Kabit and his men. They
move in. |
10:19:33 |
[KABIT’S TEAM COME IN] KABIT KATAWAL: [Nepali] SUBTITLE: We
are CIB an I’m the Deputy Superintendent. KABIT KATAWAL: You are
the buyers? SUBTITLE: You’re the
buyers? STEVE CHAO: I’m just
looking. KABIT KATAWAL: , , , What
are you doing? SUBTITLE: What are you
doing? STEVE CHAO: Ah I’m just
looking sir. KABIT KATAWAL: What is
this curio? SUBTITLE: What is this? STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Throughout the store authorities uncover hidden artefacts. KABIT KATAWAL: [Nepali] SUBTITLE: Do
you understand? You
cannot sell antique items… so bring everything out. -
You can look… -
No, bring everything out. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Over the course of the day investigators raid three stores in
Kathmandu, all belonging to the Shakya family. They seize more than a hundred antiques. |
10:20:12 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Deepak Shakya and two others are brought into police headquarters and
charged with trafficking. They face up
to five years in gaol. PUSHKAR KARKI:
The raid went well. My
guys are still on the documentation.
That’s something needed to produce for the court. Ah it wa- it was a good operation. There’s a lot of activities involved
here. You buy, you sell. There’s a network where it goes, where it
ends. So it is a long chain. SUBTITLE: The
raid went well. My
guys are still on the the documentation… That’s
something needed to produce for
the court. It
was a good operation. There’s
a lot of activities involved here. You
buy, you sell…there’s a network Where
it goes, where it ends. So
this is a long chain. |
10:20:46 |
STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: CIB Director Karki
wastes little time in rattling that chain of illegal trade. PUSHKAR
KARKI AT PRESS CONFERENCE: [Nepali] SUBTITLE: We want to
show you all what
has been recovered. STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: At a press conference
he shows off the illegal antiquities seized.
And confirms Nepalese police are investigating Deepak Shakya’s
shippers, and customers. PUSKAR
KARKI: [Nepali] SUBTITLE: we can see
that most of the idols are exported from HLK
Enterprises. Some made it
to the USA… And
some of those to museums. |
10:21:18 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
And one of those museums the police confirmed is being investigated is
the Rubin in New York, home to one of the most outstanding collections of
Himalayan antiquities in the world. |
10:21:31 |
STEVE CHAO: So this is
your section on Nepal? JORRIT BRITSCHGI: Exactly. This is our floor that features the
masterworks from the collection and we’re here in the region where we talk
about- STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: Jorrit Britschgi heads
the museum and agrees to show us around.
The Rubin has more than three thousand eight hundred Himalayan works
of art in its collection, including some of the finest copper and bronze
statues, in the world. JORRIT BRITSCHGI: It is
really quite an amazing piece of of of craftsmanship. There’s a sense of power of movement yet
it’s it’s really got this sense of monumental calm. STEVE
CHAO: And how did the Rubin come to
find this piece? JORRIT
BRITSCHGI: This piece has a long
history as I recall of being in the West already, um. It was I believe in the Sixties um that
that it was in the US and and then was was collected by the by several
collectors in fact before it entered the collection of of the Rubin Family
and it was then- STEVE
CHAO VOICEOVER: While most of the
collection is displayed in typical museum fashion, in one room the Rubin has
also built a shrine. JORRIT BRITSCHGI:
Because that’s what those paintings were painted for and what those
sculptures were created for is you know to serve a living tradition which- STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Their visitors get a true cultural experience. But what about the Nepalese who once
worshipped these icons? |
10:22:50 |
STEVE
CHAO: Should items be returned back
to their country? JORRIT
BRITSCHGI: I don’t think I’m going to
answer that. I don’t have a good
answer for that. STEVE CHAO:
You don’t have a good answer for that? JORRIT BRITSCHGI: . . . No.
‘Cause it’s it’s a very, you know saying this very generally, it’s
it’s very hard. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: And that’s not the only question he finds
hard to answer. STEVE CHAO:
In Nepal authorities recently arrested a number of antique
dealers. Has the Rubin Museum done any
dealings with Deepak Shakya or his family the Shakyas? JORRIT BRITSCHGI: I don’t think we should answer that. Do we?’ [MUSEUM PR] STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: The museum’s PR person intervenes. MUSEUM PR:
. . . I mean we’d have look into the, you know we’d have do a lot of
research to know that. SUBTITLE: We’d have to do a lot of research to know that. STEVE CHAO:
. . . Do you want to say that to me? MUSEUM PR:
Do you want us to get like back to you about it? SUBTITLE: Do you want us to get back to you about it? STEVE CHAO:
That would yeah that’d be good. JORRIT BRITSCHGI: . . . Yeah. STEVE CHAO:
It was a just recent raid. JORRIT BRITSCHGI:
. . . Yeah. Well we’ll ge-get
back to you on that . . . MUSEUM PR:
Yeah yeah. JORRIT BRITSCHGI: . . . I suppose that’s- yeah. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: A few days later the Rubin emailed to say
to their best knowledge they don’t have any connection nor objects from
Deepak Shakya or his family, and they have strong guidelines against buying
items known or suspected to be stolen.
Christie’s and Sotheby’s also both deny selling any stolen artefacts,
and state they have no record of ever having dealt with the Shakya family. |
10:24:12 |
STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Back in Mustang, Tashi says he doesn’t fully blame museums or
collectors. TASHI BISTA: I believe
that not every museum or not every private collectors ah realise that their
collections or some artefacts that they own have been stolen you know,
because because it’s a very long process on how these artefacts are stolen
and how they travel to different parts of the world. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
But no matter who’s responsible, it’s estimated that more than eighty
percent of all Nepal’s religious artefacts have been stolen and sold
abroad. |
10:24:45 |
TASHI
BISTA: [Nepali] SUBTITLE: Okay,
let’s get these statutes out there and take our photos. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER: To
ensure what remains in Mustang stays here. TASHI BISTA: [Nepali] SUBTITLE: STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Tashi is now training monks in his village monastery to protect their
gods. TASHI BISTA: [Nepali] SUBTITLE: so that it casts the least shadows. TASHI BISTA: We’re
trying to ah record all these all metal statues, glazed statutes, ah the
ritual items. The foremost importance
is that we have a database that um has a proper record of our belongings you
know. And secondly this is this
database is what can help us track these items tomorrow in the future if they
get stolen somewhere. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Tashi’s dream is that one day stolen items will be returned. TASHI BISTA: Nothing
justifies the artefacts not being in their places of origin and where the
people worship them. Nothing justifies
the fact that they are not in the place where it’s still a part of the living
heritage. I think nothing justifies
that they’re not here. STEVE CHAO VOICEOVER:
Until the artefacts are returned and the thefts stop Tashi says the
ancient way of life for his people will remain under threat. |
10:25:55 |
GFX: ALJAZEERA |