Sri Lanka's foreign minister said Monday that his country welcomes the Netherlands' plan to return hundreds of colonial-era artifacts — including a bejeweled, ceremonial cannon — and said the Indian Ocean island is working to preserve the historic items.
The Dutch government last week announced that it will return 478 objects of cultural significance to Indonesia and to Sri Lanka. It said the objects were wrongfully brought to the Netherlands during the colonial period, acquired under duress or by looting.
