Rob Picheta: CNN
Belgium’s controversial Africa Museum re-opened on Saturday after a five-year renovation, but protests and a request from the President of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the return of its stolen artefacts have overshadowed the site’s unveiling.
A 66 million euro ($75 million) upgrade was intended to help the Royal Museum for Central Africa, which houses items looted from what is now the DRC during Belgium’s brutal occupation of the country, shed its imperialist image.
But DRC President Joseph Kabila told Belgian newspaper Le Soir last week he would be making a formal request for the return of artifacts from his country in time for the opening of the country’s own museum next year. …Read More
Pictured: Africa Museum Credit: GEORGES GOBET/AFP/AFP/Getty Images