Ahh, the Buddahs. A sad state of affairs. At least they were photographed.
I see no equivalent to the Nazi stolen art. Art commissioned by or purchased by private parties and then stolen is theft.
A better equivalent is the cultural artifacts that were hauled away by wealthy individuals and private foundations in the 19th century when it was fashionable. My favorite being the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum - basically a rich broad running around the mediterranean giving kids candy to smash statues and pottery. Whatever government existed in many of these areas had been either disorganized, corrupt or more likely puzzled that anyone would want that old crap. But for an example that must exist somewhere, if some early archaeologist dug up a Greek artifact in what is now Turkey, and it were now in a museum in say France, who would have a more valid claim to it than the French museum? The Turkish government? Not a valid claim to my mind. If those Buddha statues had been spirited away from Afghanistan before the Taliban trucked out the TNT, they would have every right to demand them back to blow them up. I would not want them handed over. But if one looks for injustices, one can always find some.