Missing Guardstones: Act Now

In our editorial on August 6 on the theft of the 1826 painting of William Danielle of the Mulkirigala Temple, we quoted a wag saying that the theft of the painting was not surprising but what was indeed surprising was that the temple itself had not disappeared into thin air. Now, it is apparent that what the wag said was no hyperbole but in fact a sound assessment of the threat posed to our historic and archeological monuments. The theft of five massive granite Guardstones from the historic site of the Vatadage at Medirigriya which dates back to about 160 AD is a positive indication that even massive granite structures are not safe from looters.

The Ministry of Cultural Affairs and those departments that come under it such as the Archeological Department and the Cultural Triangle cannot throw up their arms and express their impotence to do any thing about it. Every effort must be made to find those treasured Guardstones and have them restored at the historic site.

In the good old days the sole responsibility to protect these monuments was with the Archeological Department but with the intrusion of the Cultural Triangle into these archeological sites, the public is unaware of who guards these sites. It is fairly well known that each such site has security guards, who were simply called watchers in the days gone by. During the day, they act with much alacrity if any person pulls out a camera without having a permit from the archeological department to photograph the monuments. But such five treasured objects have vanished into thin air. The first question that arises is how the thieves were able to extract these heavy monuments which would have taken a considerable period of time and cart them away. Minister of Cultural Affairs, Mr. Lakshman Jayakody should issue a detailed statement about the theft and what he hopes to do about recovering them.

It is quite apparent that this crime committed against our heritage was not one of simple thieves who would steal objects of art like metal statues for the value of their metal. Guardstones and the like are wanted by international museums and private art collectors who have an obsession about possessing such unique objects and also for the value in the international blackmarket dealing with stolen works of art. For obvious reasons,these Guardstones cannot be publicly displayed here. They have to be smuggled abroad. They have to pass security checkpoints and finally pass through the customs barrier.

This daring theft is also a positive indication that our archeological sites are being looted at times with the connivance of those who are supposed to be their guardians. In our August 6 editorial, we called for a complete inventory of all archeological sites and places of historic interest. Earlier there were such inventories with the Archeological Department, we are informed. A comparison with these inventories would give an indication to the extent to which these sites have been looted.

The discovery that objects of art which are part and parcel of our heritage being looted and appearing in international markets, demands that these monuments be protected to a much greater extent than with lowly paid security guards or watchers. A much more intensive and effective surveillance system is called for. The situation today demands that a special branch in the police which could liaise with Interpol on thefts of objects of art as well as a special branch in the Customs be established to prevent this crime.

Today, at tourist resorts and hotels there are antique shops claiming to sell genuine antiques. Even though much of those 'genuine antiques' are made in the backrooms of such shops, there could indeed be genuine antiques up for sale. Does any authority monitor those objects of art in showcases of tourist resorts?

Destruction of treasured monuments of our forefathers has been a way in which enemies of this nation have attempted to destroy this nation. The decapitated statues and other forms of vandalism still seen in historic sites is indicative of it. In modern times we have parasites among us as well as so called international lovers of art stealing our heritage in even a more despicable manner than those deployed by invaders.

Following reports of the theft of the Mulkirigala painting and other artifacts of colonial vintage, two MPs, Messrs. Sarath Amunugama and Rukman Senanayake moved a private members motion calling for the death penalty to be imposed on those who steal our heritage. Certainly the most severest of punishments is called for but before that much more effective methods to prevent theft of our heritage be put in place.