The arrival on the Big Island, Friday March 22 and Saturday March 23, of a large delegation from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs with, in its suitcases, a letter from the Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, delighted the Malagasy authorities. Explanations.
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With our correspondent in Antananarivo, Sarah Tétaud
The letter finally notes the composition of the French team on the mixed commission – a commission made obligatory by the vote of the law of December 26 on the restitution of human remains – and proposes to the Malagasy side a meeting in the spring, in Paris. The invitation has already been accepted.
Seven Malagasy and seven French people were thus selected to form the famous bilateral committee in charge of discussions around the restitution of the skulls. Among these members, we find government representatives, of course, but also representatives of cultural and museum institutions of the two countries, the current Sakalava king Magloire – the first to have demanded, in 2003, the return of the skull of his ancestor King Toera, beheaded by the French colonial army, but also and above all historians, like Klara Boyer-Rossol, who has been working on the subject for more than a decade.
“ There is already historical and scientific work that has been done. So the idea of this commission is not to take up the whole question of the origin of human remains but rather to define together the conditions for restitution. », Confides Aurélien Lechevallier, director general of globalization, cultural policy and cooperation for French diplomacy. “ So, normally, it should be a time-framed process. » he assures.
“ We are in the right process today », affirms for his part Augustin Andriamananoro, Malagasy Minister of Culture who does not hide his optimism: “ So let’s hope that our trip to Paris at the end of April can conclude these plans. This year will be a year of achievement! »
According to the French authorities, this meeting promises to be a turning point in this vast issue – as complex as it is sensitive – which is the restitution of human remains.
“ This is a first since there are other requests for restitution from other countries. But this time, on the one hand, it is the first time that we will bring together a commission of historians and if the restitution takes place, Madagascar will be the first country where we will apply this new French law. So it’s truly a historic step that is being reached. », further specifies Aurélien Lechevallier.
The more precise timetable for restitution should be known following the first meeting of the joint commission.
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