Romanian artefacts recovered

My name is Robert van Langh, and I have been Director of the Drents Museum since the beginning of last year. Today, I saw how moved, happy, relieved and grateful my colleagues were when I told them that the helmet and the bracelets had been found. We can scarcely imagine what this must be like in Romania, for our dear colleagues at the National History Museum in Bucharest and for the Romanian people. It is wonderful that the helmet and two of the three bracelets are now returning to where they belong.

This is also a moment to once again express our gratitude. First and foremost to the Dutch police, the Public Prosecution Service, the Romanian investigative authorities, and national and international judicial organisations, who have worked with tireless dedication to resolve this case. Their commitment has deeply moved us and strengthened our conviction that the artworks would be recovered. We are also profoundly grateful for the support of Marco Out, the Mayor of Assen, and his team, as well as the Province of Drenthe and the Dutch government.

Our thanks also go to all those who have shown their support and solidarity with the Romanian people and with our museum over the past months, both in the Netherlands and abroad. The heart-warming responses meant a great deal to us and gave us the confidence to continue our mission: to organise the finest exhibitions in Drenthe and to introduce people across the Netherlands to the very best that culture has to offer through the ages.

We will do so in practice later this afternoon, when, as planned, the exhibition Ode to Amrita Sher-Gil is officially opened. It is a tribute to a Hungarian-Indian artist who addressed important themes in her work, such as freedom, identity and love. Due to geopolitical developments, key works were unable to reach Assen, but we are equally grateful for the many outstanding works we were able to borrow as an alternative from our fellow museums. That sense of solidarity and trust is deeply moving to me.

Last, but certainly not least, I would like to express my gratitude to our own staff, who have received much support over the past year, but have also faced difficult moments at times. Together we have come through this, and together we will continue to build this wonderful museum—one that not only Drenthe, but the whole of the Netherlands, can be proud of.

The attack on our museum on 25 January last year was the most serious in the more than 170 years of our existence. It was an unprecedented act - a violent robbery involving explosives, unlike anything previously seen in the history of Dutch museums. Nothing can withstand a bomb. What we witnessed in Assen was a new form of violence directed at museums - one that transcends Assen, transcends the Netherlands, and one about which we must continue the conversation at an international level.

The objects are now back in safe hands. The priority is to ensure that any damage is carefully assessed in view of possible restoration, and to arrange for their safe repatriation to Romania. We have confidence in the course of justice. In just over a week, the suspects will appear in court next door. The perpetrators of this terrible crime against cultural heritage will not escape justice.