Reports that 10 ancient bronze drums and other vital artifacts were looted from the heritage museum in the Karenni (Kayah) State capital of Loikaw are false, the Karenni State Interim Executive Council said on Wednesday.
The museum’s antiquities and other artifacts were moved to safer places after homes, public buildings and religious sites were damaged or destroyed by junta shelling and air strikes, the council said in a statement, adding that the possibility of theft was also a factor in the decision to move the items.
The council is the revolutionary governing body in the state, most of which is under the control of local resistance forces. It was established last year.
Rumors that the museum had been looted began after a recent visit to the museum by the junta-appointed Karenni State chief minister. Ten bronze drums, regalia, a palanquin and personal items of the Kantarawaddy Saopha (feudal lord) were said to have been stolen.
Bronze drums are prized by Karenni people. Their ancestors were among the first to manufacture them in Southeast Asia. An image of a bronze drum is emblazoned on the state’s flag. The first bronze drums, made more than 1,000 years ago, continue to draw immense interest from archaeologists.
The museum’s collection of historical and culturally important items came under threat after the junta responded to Operation 1111 with airstrikes and shelling. The operation is a coordinated offensive by Karenni resistance groups to liberate their state from the regime. It began on November 11 last year.
Karenni resistance troops controlled about half of the state capital for almost seven months before junta offensives forced them to retreat from parts of Loikaw.
The council said the museum’s artifacts, instruments, historical weapons, ornaments and bronze drums had to be moved out of the museum for safety.
The Irrawaddy has reached out to council members for comment but did not receive a reply.
A source close to the museum said: “The most important items at the Loikaw Museum are 10 bronze drums. They have historical significance and are the heritage of Kayah people. Those drums and the items of Kantarawaddy Saopha are gone. Officials are still making a list of missing items. So, we still don’t know the details.”
Besides the items on display, there were also items kept separately in a storeroom, the source said.
The Loikaw Museum survived intact during fighting between junta troops and Karenni resistance forces, the council said. It opened in September 1996. Apart from artifacts, it holds more than 13,000 books.
All citizens of Karenni State are responsible for conserving and handing down the state’s cultural heritage, the council said.
Myanmar ratified The Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict in February 1954.
The country was scheduled to submit its final draft for nominating the ancient Rakhine city of Mrauk-U to become a World Heritage Site to UNESCO in January 2022. Heritage buildings in the city were damaged during the latest fighting between the regime and the Arakan Army. The fighting also disrupted conservation efforts. The ancient royal capital of the Rakhine people is now under the control of the Arakan Army.
