Easter Islanders call for return of statue from British Museum - The Guardian

Easter Islanders call for return of statue from British Museum The Guardian

A delegation from the British Museum will arrive on Easter Island on Tuesday aiming to discuss how to help preserve more than 1,000 of the island’s renowned statues. Rapa Nui leaders will introduce their visitors to their culture – but they also want to talk about the possible return of the world-famous statue that has stood in pride of place in the museum’s Wellcome gallery for the last 150 years. “This is no rock,” said Carlos Edmunds, the president of the Council of Elders, of Hoa Hakananai’a, a four-tonne lava rock sculpture carved by the ancient inhabitants of Easter Island that has be...