The Jordan Rights Center declares that Britain has not returned Stone Age statues yet

The head of the Mishaa Center for Studies and Human Rights in Jordan revealed that Britain had taken thirty Stone Age statues for restoration in 1990 and has not returned them yet. According to Deifallah Haditha, the statues were to be returned to Jordan within two years.

Dhaifallah explained that “the terms of the restoration agreement stated that Jordan pays 300 thousand dollars to Britain in exchange for this.” And “It has been paid.” He added that the British Museum would be given two statues as a part of the deal.

Haditha explained that these monuments dated back to the Stone Age and were discovered in 1982 in Ain Ghazal area in Amman. He said “They are symbols of the advancement of society in the region at that time.”

And he described the Jordanian government’s efforts to return the statues as “shy” and outdated. He added “These artifacts may become the property of the British government in the next days, unless there is a national effort to push the Jordanian government to take real steps to return these statues.”

Dhaifallah accused the Jordanian government of “neglecting” such antiquities. “Especially those that have been smuggled out.” He pointed to a statue of Misha Steele in the Louvre in Paris, as well as to another statue from the Stone Age.

Since 2016, Deifallah has been overseeing the Jordanian campaign to regain the Misha obelisk, which France seized in 1867.

Source: Middle East Monitor