VIENTIANE (Vientiane Times/ANN): Three ancient Buddha statues that were taken from Laos many decades ago have been returned after being retrieved from a Lao Buddhist temple in Paris. Buddhists gathered on Thursday (Feb 27) at Ongteu Temple to venerate and welcome the return of the treasured images. She was informed that the statues had been taken from Laos during the time of the Lane Xang Kingdom. Bounthong said the abbot decided that the statues should be returned to Laos. He said he was proud of the goodwill and cooperation between the Lao Embassy in Paris and Lao expats and monks in France, which had enabled the ancient Buddha images to be returned.

Source: The Star March 02, 2020 01:18 UTC