REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesia is taking steps to reclaim thousands of ancient manuscripts held by foreign governments and individuals, according to a National Library official.

"So far, around 400 ancient manuscripts have successfully been reclaimed from the Netherlands, Japan, Britain, and other countries," Perpusnas (National Library) deputy for library materials development Welmin Sunyi Ariningsih said on Saturday.

She noted that foreign citizens had great interest in culture, history, documents and ancient manuscripts because of their scientific and cultural value.

"We do not know how many thousands of ancient documents and manuscripts from 'Nusantara' (Indonesia) have been kept by foreign countries and individuals, as a review has yet to be done to locate them," she said.

She added that some foreign individuals had purchased manuscripts from community members, while foreign governments obtained them during their occupation of the country.

"We continue to negotiate and also use diplomatic channels in an effort to urge countries to be willing to return the manuscripts," she said.

Despite the presence of Law Number 11 of 2010 that bans the sales of ancient manuscripts, considered to be natural heritages, in reality such transactions still often take place.

"It is difficult for us to monitor it, so we hope the public would be aware and would not trade ancient documents, manuscripts and literary works to foreign countries or individuals because they are the original cultural heritage of the country," she said.

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