[MSN] DANISH officials yesterday hit back at allegations that their country stole some of Bahrain's ancient national treasures.

[MSN]

Denmark denies theft charges 
  By GEOFFREY BEW
   
DANISH officials yesterday hit back at allegations that their country stole
some of Bahrain's ancient national treasures.
Shura Council members Huda Nonoo and Faisal Fulad demanded artefacts
discovered by Danish teams during expeditions in the 1970s be returned
immediately during its weekly meeting on Monday.

The members pledged to meet Danish government officials, MPs and
representatives of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organisation (Unesco) to negotiate the return of the objects.
The Moesgard Museum website says it has "a considerable collection of
artefacts from Bahrain and other localities around the Arabian Gulf".
However, museum's Near East Department head Flemming Hojlund told the GDN
from Hojbjerg, Denmark, that the only pieces not already returned were pot
shards of no financial value.
"It is a serious allegation and not something we like to see in the
newspapers," said the archaeologist, who has travelled to Bahrain several
times for excavations.

"Nothing illegal has ever taken place between Denmark and Bahrain. I do not
understand how such rumours can start."
Mr Hojlund said officials had been fully co-operating with the Bahrain
National Museum on such issues since the 1950s.
"On excavations of ancient settlements, shards from broken pots made of
burnt clay were unearthed in large quantities and most of them were thrown
away," he said. 

"Some shards were brought to the museum for study. 

"The Bahrain National Museum has a very large collection of pot shards from
different periods of Bahrain history. Other museums like the British Museum
and Moesgard Museum also have collections that are useful for teaching
students about the culture history of the Gulf."
Mr Hojlund said Denmark has an agreement with Bahrain government in which it
is entitled to keep half of the artefacts that its archaeologists discovered
during earlier excavations, which was standard practice around the world.
However, he said despite its legal entitlement, the European country had not
evoked this clause because of the strong friendship between both countries.
Shura Council member Mohammed Radhi yesterday stood by his claims, alleging
Denmark had yet to return some golden artefacts.
He said a former Bahrain government minister travelled to Denmark in 1986
and saw the artefacts himself and insisted those he saw had not been
returned.
"I spoke with some of the people who accompanied him and they assured this
to me," said Mr Radhi.
Officials at the Denmark Embassy in Riyadh said they had been unaware of the
controversy until it appeared in yesterday's GDN.
A spokeswoman said officials had requested clarification on the situation
from the government headquarters in Copenhagen and could not comment until
they received a response. She added this could make comment until next week.
Bahrain National Museum officials were unavailable for comment.
geoff at gdn.com.bh 
http://www.gulf-daily-news.com/

toncremers at museum-security.org
http://www.museum-security.org
http://www.museumbeveiliging.com
http://www.handboekveiligheidszorgmusea.nl