Egyptian Antiquities Minister: We've Got Things Under Control

Egypt's current antiquities minister is quoted as stating,

"All the warehouses of antiquities are fully secured, noting that only 2 percent of the artifacts were stolen during the state of lawlessness which prevailed in the country, he added."

http://allafrica.com/stories/201202211274.html

If so, where is the "emergency" that has prompted all the lobbying from the archaeological community and the sole source contract to ICOM to prepare a "Red List" of Egyptian antiquities that are supposedly at risk?

Egypt in Crisis: Clamp Down on Pro-Democracy NGOs Derails Clamp Down on Collectors?

The Egyptian Military Dictatorship's decision to put Americans associated with pro-Democracy NGOs on trial may have derailed efforts to orchestrate emergency import restrictions on Egyptian cultural goods at least temporarily.

The roll-out of the new State Department funded Red List has occurred without the usual hoopla, except for this one post from a lawyer and former prosecutor who formally served as SAFE's Vice President:
http://culturalheritagelawyer.blogspot.com/2012/02/egyptian-red-list-now-available.html

And no wonder. While the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs has been funding efforts of the archaeological lobby to justify import restrictions on behalf of the Egyptian Military Dictatorship with a sole source contract to prepare this "Red List," the higher ups at State have threatened to suspend all aid to Egypt over the jailing and threatened trial of Americans associated with pro-Democracy NGOs. See
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/19/world/middleeast/trial-of-americans-in-egypt-shakes-nations-ties.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=Egypt&st=cse

Cultural policy is a reflection of other government policies. In Greece, rational management of cultural resources has been hampered by over regulation, corruption and gross underfunding. Egypt's cultural policy suffers from the same ills along with an absolutely Pharaonic view of government control over the past. So why does the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, its Cultural Heritage Center and the archaeological lobby continue to subsidize and cheer for such corrupt and unfair systems?

ICOM "Red List" to Pave the Way for New Restrictions on Egyptian Cultural Goods?

In the US, Congress has established the following process for imposing import restrictions: (1) a State Party to the 1970 UNESCO Convention requests US assistance; (2) the request is vetted by the US Cultural Property Advisory Committee (CPAC) as to whether it meets the statutory requirements generally and for what artifacts specifically; (3) the President's Designee in the State Department considers CPAC's recommendations in making her own findings whether the statutory criteria are met: (4) if the statutory criteria are met, US Customs restricts entry of certain artifacts that meet the statutory criteria.

Unfortunately, a new extra-legal model has emerged that appears to have been perfected under the Obama Administration either through inattention by political appointees or by design: (1) Archaeologists intone that looting (real or imagined) justifies a clamp down on another collecting area; (2) their allies in the State Department Cultural Heritage Center issue a sole source contract to a NGO associated with the extreme archaeological view to prepare a list of artifacts that supposedly can be assumed to be "stolen" unless proven otherwise; (3) Archaeologists lobby the modern foreign government that sits on the land where these artifacts can be found to ask the US to impose import restrictions; (4) CPAC (which is now populated almost exclusively by those sympathetic to the extreme archaeological view) and the President's Designee in the State Department go through the motions of considering a request, but ignore all the statutory criteria in order to "get there"; and (5) artifacts are restricted based on the "Red List" prepared by the NGO associated with the extreme archaeological view.

It is quite possible that the process has already begun for imposing new restrictions on Egyptian cultural artifacts.

1. During unrest during the Egyptian revolution, there apparently was some looting, though the extent does not seem to be very extensive.

2. Archaeologists have argued this justifies a clamp down on collectors of Egyptian artifacts.

3. The State Department issued a sole source contract (See https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=fa0c2fe21fd3cf5028a500f1fc4b97e4&tab=core&tabmode=list) to ICOM for the creation of a "Red List." See also, http://exchanges.state.gov/heritage/special.html (noting that the Cultural Heritage Center funds Red Lists as a "special project.")

4. ICOM has now completed its work. See http://icom.museum/press-releases/press-release/article/icom-publishes-a-new-emergency-red-list-the-emergency-red-list-of-egyptian-cultural-objects-at-risk.html Note, according to ICOM: " Any cultural object that could have originated in Egypt should be subjected to detailed scrutiny and precautionary measures."

5. Although the State Department has indicated that former Egyptian Cultural Heritage Pharaoh Zahi Hawass' claim that a MOU was in the offing actually related to an agreement with US Customs, that does not foreclose the possibility that the process for imposing new import restrictions on Egyptian cultural goods has already commenced with the production of this "Red List." See http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/10/state-department-clarifies-egyptian-mou.html

Only time will tell.

Library Tragedy to be Used to Justify New Import Restrictions and Return of Hawass?

Will the tragic burning of a historic library in Egypt during continuing unrest be used to justify "emergency restrictions" on Egyptian cultural artifacts and the return of Zahi Hawass to power?

Read this http://www.drhawass.com/blog/december-17-2011-sad-day-my-life and
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2011/1076/he2.htm

What do you think?

Meanwhile, a generous Gulf sheik has promised financial help to rebuild the collection. See http://gulftoday.ae/portal/1eb8d27d-5e5b-4a25-82aa-fbab4e59f123.aspx

State Department Clarifies Egyptian MOU

The State Department Cultural Heritage Center has clarified the situation on the Egyptian MOU as follows:

http://exchanges.state.gov/heritage/whatsnew.html

What's New

Potential Memorandum of Understanding between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Egypt�s Ministry of State for Antiquities

The Department of State�s Cultural Heritage Center has become aware that confusion exists concerning a potential MOU between U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Egypt�s Ministry of State for Antiquities. Such an agreement would differ from the type of MOU made under Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention for import restrictions on certain categories of cultural materials. The Department understands that the MOU presently under discussion by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement concerns information exchange and not import restrictions. If the Government of the Arab Republic of Egypt requests an agreement pursuant to Article 9 of the 1970 UNESCO Convention, the Department of State would announce receipt of such a request in the Federal Register. This procedure is the only means currently available to a country wishing U.S. import restrictions on its cultural property.

Given this clarification, a recap of how this issue arose is in order.

Last May, then Egyptian Antiquities Minister Zahi Hawass stated on his blog,

[A Coalition of US archaeologists] reported that the US Government is willing to impose emergency restrictions on Egyptian antiquities....The coalition will be drafting a formal agreement between the US and Egyptian governments...."

See http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/05/hawass-says-emergency-import.html

Last June, the Cultural Policy Research Institute made FOIA requests on the matter, that have not been answered satisfactorily.

See http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/06/cpri-files-foia-request-on-purported.html

Last September, it was reported that the State Department [not US Customs] had given ICOM a sole source contract to prepare a "red list of Egyptian antiquities at risk." See http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/09/state-department-commissions-egyptian.html

Just this week, an Egytian newspaper that is viewed as the unofficial voice of the Egyptian military government reported,

New strategy to prevent illegal trade in Egyptian antiquities

Nevine El-Aref, Sunday 23 Oct 2011

American-Egyptian memorandum of understanding to track down antiquities smugglers in the United States to be signed soon

In an attempt to tighten security measures on antiquities trafficking, Egypt is to sign a memorandum of understanding with the United States enabling the Customs and National Security Department in the USA to track and catch antiquities smugglers in the country. They will also be able to take all legal procedures to return illegally smuggled antiquities to Egypt.

Mustafa Amin, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that according to the memorandum, training courses would be provided for Egyptian archaeologists responsible for archaeological units in ports and airports in order to discover any smuggling attempts across Egyptian borders.

The United States will also offer Egypt a financial grant to implement a special security strategy at all its archaeological sites, museums and borders. State-of-the-art security equipment such as electronic gates, burglar alarms connected to TV circuits, and cameras will also be provided.

http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/24873.aspx

Under the circumstances, while the State Department's clarification is welcome, it should be followed up with more transparency about the issue.

CPAC and Egypt: Why Bother?

Ahramonline, the Egyptian Military Dictatorship's mouthpiece, has reported that US and Egyptian authorities are poised to sign yet another MOU which will purportedly clamp down on the trade in Egyptian artifacts. See
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/9/40/24873/Heritage/Ancient-Egypt/New-strategy-to-prevent-illegal-trade-in-Egyptian-.aspx

Of course, such MOU's are only supposed to be decided after a formal request from a State Party to the State Department. CPAC is then supposed to make recommendations to the President's designee at the Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, who in turn is only supposed to agree to import restrictions if specific statutory criteria are met.

Here, all this appears to be a formality. Some months ago former Egyptian antiquities chief Zahi Hawass reported that American archaeologists had secured the State Department's agreement to enter into import restrictions. Then, the State Department gave ICOM a sole source contract to develop a "red list" of Egyptian antiquities at risk, which can also serve as a ready made "designated list" for import restrictions.

If the reports emanating out of Egypt are true, it's just more evidence that the whole CPAC process is but a bad joke.

Libya: What Emergency?

There they go again. Only months after apparently receiving assurances from their buddies at the State Department about "emergency import restrictions" on Egyptian cultural artifacts, archaeological trade groups are again taking advantage of another supposed emergency to call for yet another round of emergency import restrictions, which of course, are just the first step towards a permanent ban. See http://www.archaeological.org/news/aianews/6415

Yet, the facts seem to conspire against them. See http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2011/sep/11/tripoli-museum-antiquity-shattered-gaddafi-image (noting that there was no looting of archaeological artifacts at the Libyan national museum).

If I were a member of the Libyan provisional government, I might be a bit peeved that foreign academics are implying that the Libyans themselves are incapable of caring for their own cultural patrimony (despite considerable evidence to the contrary) and view this call for import restrictions as nothing more than a paternalistic violation of Libyan sovereignty.

One also has to wonder what, if any contacts, members of these groups had with the deposed regime. If past history in places like Egypt and Iraq are any guide, these relations could have been considerable. And certainly, this should be considered by Libyan officials as well in determining whether the help of these groups is necessary or desirable.

But do the facts on the ground and the desires of the Libyans really matter when the cronies of these groups run the State Department's Cultural Heritage Center? Or, will Libyan cultural officials be convinced to go along whatever the true facts and what the need for emergency restrictions says about Libya's own competence to care for its own cultural patrimony?

Can't Egypt Come Up With Its Own List?

Archaeologists have criticised the idea of suggesting programs akin to PAS to foreign states.



Yet, they seem supportive of the State Department's paternalistic effort to announce to Egypt and the rest of the world what Egyptian antiquities are supposedly "at risk." See

http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/09/state-department-commissions-egyptian.html



The Federal Budget is facing large cuts that will impact health care, defense and foreign aid. Under the circumstances, is money for the sole source contract to create this "red list" really money well spent?



Why can't Egyptian authorities prepare their own list if one is truly necessary?

State Department Commissions Egyptian "Red List:" More Evidence of A Done Deal?

The US State Department has given a sole source contract to pro-import restrictions ICOM to create a "red list of Egyptian antiquities at risk." See https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=fa0c2fe21fd3cf5028a500f1fc4b97e4&tab=core&tabmode=list



Even as any "cultural property emergency" (if there ever really was one) fades, it again appears that the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center may be busily at work stage managing a shadow process for imposing import restrictions on cultural goods.



What should happen under the CPIA is clear. A request from Egypt itself is contemplated. And the request should be processed through CPAC.



Here, however, former Egyptian antiquities head, Zahi Hawass, has himself been assured by American archaeologists that import restrictions are a done deal, making any request from Egypt or CPAC hearings to consider it a mere formality. See http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/05/hawass-says-emergency-import.html



And now it would seem that CPAC will have no real input on the content of any designated list either-- that presumably will be derived from whatever "red list" ICOM creates.



The CPRI has already made a FOIA request related to whether there is any done deal on and MOU with Egypt. See

http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/06/cpri-files-foia-request-on-purported.html However, to date that FOIA request has not been acted upon by the State Department.



In running for election, President Obama promised transparent government and attention to procedure. Yet, the Obama State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs appears committed to neither.

Hawass Out Again

If Zahi Hawass was hoping that the recent arrests for smuggling of Egyptian artifacts would help keep him in power, it has not happened:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/07/17/egypts-antiquities-chief-says-he-will-lose-his-job/

Where will he go? To the archaeology department of an elite University? To Hollywood? Wherever it is, I'm sure we have not heard the last of him.

And what of the allegations of corruption? Will his departure end any inquiries or stimulate them? That too remains yet to be seen.

Lifeline for Zahi and Justification for "Emergency Import Restrictions"?

There is nothing like a good indictment to remind Egyptians about Zahi Hawass' successes in seeking the cooparation of US law enforcement to effectuate the return of Egyptian cultural treasures. See http://www.drhawass.com/blog/victory-fight-against-illicit-antiquities-trade

Yet, many Egyptians will not forget the Mubarak ties or the charges of high handed conduct and corruption leveled against Hawass and his ministry.

And what better than an indictment to justify so-called emergency restrictions on Egyptian cultural artifacts? It was only recently that seizures of artifacts from auctions based on the secret Medici archive were used to help justify yet another extension of a MOU with Italy and its expansion to include certain ancient coins. See http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2009/11/gill-pr-newswire-release-confuses.html

Yet, the activities complained about in the indictment against Mousa Khouli et al. date from 2009, not 2011. And, they do nothing to explain how private archaeological groups with professional and financial interests with Hawass and his ministry were able to gain some commitment from the US Government that such restrictions were a "done deal."
See
http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/07/hawass-business-ties-raise-conflict-of.html

Hawass Business Ties Raise Conflict of Interest Concerns

Today's New York Times has an interesting article that suggests that Zahi Hawass' star may finally be on the wane in Egypt. See
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/13/world/middleeast/13hawass.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp

The article also exposes business ties between National Geographic and Hawass.

National Geographic has also actively sought so-called "emergency" import restrictions on Egyptian cultural artifacts on Hawass' behalf. See http://www.drhawass.com/blog/international-coalition-support-protection-egyptian-antiquities

But don't these business ties suggest a potential conflict of interest that should be investigated before such import restrictions are considered at all, let alone considered a "done deal" as Hawass himself has suggested?

"One hand washes another" has been long a staple of Egypt's corrupt political scene, but it should play no part in the State Department's decision making whether to clamp down on the import of Egyptian cultural goods by U.S. citizens.

CPRI Files FOIA Request on Purported Egyptian Done Deal

The Cultural Policy Research Institute has requested the State Department and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to disclose documents about a purported MOU with Egypt engineered by a coalition of archaeological groups led by the Capitol Archaeological Institute. For more, see
http://www.cprinst.org/press/freedom-of-information-act-request

As a press release indicates,

The Cultural Policy Research Institute is deeply concerned by the implication that the actions of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee and the State Department�s Department of Cultural Affairs are being directed by a coalition archaeological lobbyists.

Dr. Hawass� description of their discussion strongly suggests that the statutory requirements of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act (CCPIA) have been completely ignored and the decision-making role of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee to the President (CPAC) has been superseded.

The message is clear: a Memorandum of Understanding with Egypt would be initiated and drafted by a private U.S. group, not by the U.S. Government, as contemplated under the Cultural Property Implementation Act. The same private group has apparently guaranteed that the U.S government would sign an agreement with the Government of Egypt limiting access by all Americans to art from a founding civilization of the ancient world.

Will the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Cultural Heritage Center and U.S. Customs come clean about delegating agreement authority to a private archaeological group? Or, will they stonewall as they have in the past?

Egypt: No "Emergency" After All, Just More Exaggeration

Less than a month after Egyptian Antiquities Pharaoh Zahi Hawass suggested on his blog that archaeo-lobbyists of the "Capitol Archaeological Institute" had been given agreement authority by the US State Department to draft a MOU imposing "emergency import restrictions" on Egyptian cultural goods, see
http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/05/hawass-says-emergency-import.html, Hawass has blogged that there really is no "emergency" in Egypt after all. See http://www.drhawass.com/blog/can-egypt-protect-its-ancient-monuments

Hawass now states, " I have been distressed by recent reports that exaggerate the damage done to our antiquities...."

And so am I, but for different reasons.

This again just goes to show that archaeologists are simply not credible sources when it comes to reports of looting in countries where the facts are difficult to verify. Archaeologists have previously exaggerated looting in places like Afghanistan and Iraq to justify emergency import restrictions. Here, they have apparently done so again-- this despite Minister Hawass' own view that the situation is under control.

Emergency import restrictions are unnecessary here. Egyptian and US authorities are well able to interdict looted artifacts.

But archaeological fanatics want more: they see import restrictions as a way to drive unprovenanced artifacts off the market in the United States, at least.

And ginning up an "emergency" is their best way to assist their cronies in the State Department's Cultural Heritage Center to get the job done. Based on their exaggerations, yet another collecting area will likely become off limits to all those but the wealthy who can afford to purchase the limited number of artifacts with detailed collecting histories.

Your tax dollars at work: Fraud, Waste and Abuse at the Iraq Museum

Crusading Western archaeologists successfully lobbied for millions of dollars in US taxpayer money to be spent on Iraqi Archaeology. They further successfully lobbied for emergency import restrictions on Iraqi cultural artifacts based partly on the theory that the Iraq State was the best custodian for everything-- including common artifacts such as coins.

Was this money well spent? Should anything that looks remotely "Iraqi" be repatriated, including common artifacts like coins? Judge for yourself based upon this troubling report:


This is an interesting but distressing note about the coin [collection] in the Iraq Museum, from From Lamia al-Gailani Werr.

In the Museum they are slowly plodding through the inventory, which according to the current pace will take years. Only twenty thousands out of over two hundred thousands objects have been inventoried so far. The staff are facing many challenges, including a number of objects have lost their numbers, or metal objects that have crumbled as a the result of decades of negligence, and in particular the coins collection. Another difficulty is the lack of expertise amongst the staff to enable them to distinguish the fake from the genuine coinage.

In the Iraq Museum Library many of the old and rare archaeological books are crumbling. The Library have no expert staff to conserve the books. This can also be said for the photographic archive were conservation of the earlier photographs is lacking, and the scanning and digitising the photographic archive is not all that perfect. The staff are scanning with a resolution of 75 pixels only, because they have antiquated computers with very little memory and have no resources to purchase CDs / DVDs or USB sticks. The photographic archive rooms had a lucky escape when I was there, they got flooded one morning, the result of a test by the engineering section to check if repairs carried out to the roof had been done properly. They poured a whole tankard�s hold of water on to the roof for this purpose. The water cascaded down like a waterfall through the imperfect repairs and onto the metal cabinets in the stores and archive rooms. The staff rushed and covered everything with nylon sheets. Clearly the contracted builder�s repair was very poorly to say the least, despite a grant of three million US Dollars.

Of course, archaeological groups are again lobbying for additional millions in US taxpayer dollars being spent on Egyptian archaeology. And they have apparently already told the Egyptians that new emergency restrictions on Egyptian cultural artifacts will be imposed.

If anything, with our own budget deficits, now should be the time to scrutinze such requests far more closely.

Conflict of Interest Watch: AIA Confirms that State Department Delegates Agreement Authority to Private Archaeological Groups

The Archaeological Institute of America (AIA) has further publicised negotiations between private U.S. archaeological groups and the Egyptian Government. See
http://www.archaeological.org/news/aianews/5184

This report confirms Egyptian antiquities minister Hawass' blog suggesting that the U.S. government had ceded agreement authority to a coalition of private archaeological groups.
See http://ordinarymag.blogspot.com/2011/05/hawass-says-emergency-import.html

According to the report, "Zahi Hawass, Egypt's Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said, 'The Coalition will be drafting a formal agreement between the US and Egyptian governments, and, as soon as it is signed, all of these important projects will be implemented.'"

I find this troubling. Coalition members certainly have a sincere interest in helping Egypt to preserve its cultural heritage, but they also have direct professional and financial interests with Egypt's corrupt cultural establishment, i.e., excavation permits, TV deals and the like. This thus raises conflict of interest concerns.

It should also be noted that the AIA press release does not repeat Hawass' statement that the negotiations included so-called emergency import restrictions on Egyptian cultural artifacts. One suspects that the omission is intentional. As stated previously, news that such restrictions are a "done deal" suggests that the State Department is simply ignoring the legal provisions of the Convention on Cultural Property Implementation Act.