[CPProt.net] Thousands of Ethiopians cheered and cried joyously as Italy yesterday returned the first piece of the Axum obelisk (Habemus Axum)

[Museum Security Network / Cultural Property Protection Net (Ton Cremers)]

Obelisk arrives in Ethiopia 

Italy sends first piece of Axum monument 


Axum, Ethiopia _ Thousands of Ethiopians cheered and cried joyously as Italy
yesterday returned the first piece of the Axum obelisk, an ancient national
treasure that Rome's fascist regime plundered 68 years ago.

Cheers erupted as the massive cargo jet carrying the first piece of the
funerary monument broke through the early-morning mist of the shrouded sky
of Axum, a northern city that was the centre of ancient Ethiopia's
civilisation.

``This is an historic moment for all Ethiopians,'' said Minister of Culture
Teshome Toga, who received the granite monument that once symbolised one of
the most powerful kingdoms on earth, the Axumite Kingdom. ``We have waited
so long for this.''

The Russian-made Antonov 124 cargo jet, one of only two types of plane large
enough to carry the granite monument's three parts, alighted smoothly in
landlocked Ethiopia on a runway specially built to accommodate its bulk.

``I am now in the last stretch of my life on this earth, and I will go to my
grave with the greatest happiness I ever experienced to see the return of
the obelisk,'' said Abebe Alemayhue, 82, who remembered how Italian invaders
surrounded Axum and carried the obelisk away under heavy guard.

The jet, paid for by Italy and flown from Rome, landed nearly six decades
after Italy promised to return the 24m obelisk after its World War Two
defeat.

But arguments and logistical challenges kept the obelisk in Rome, where
fascist dictator Benito Mussolini had ordered it erected in a flourish of
imperial grandeur reminiscent of ancient Roman conquerors.

Ethiopian Orthodox churchmen clad in gold and blue ornamental robes raised a
golden cross up high and blessed the monument as two cranes pulled the
60-tonne segment out of the jet's cavernous hold onto a waiting flatbed
truck.

Protected by a metal casing, it is to be joined by two other segments in the
next 10 days, and then re-erected at the site where Italian troops in 1937
split it into three and carried it to Rome as a symbol of victory over
Ethiopia.

The return of cultural treasures, from looted Nazi art to colonial-era
artefacts, has become a global issue.

For example, Greece has repeatedly requested the return of the Elgin
Marbles, fragments from Athens' Parthenon temple removed in the early 19th
century, from London's British Museum.

In 1980, the UN's Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco)
set up a committee which seeks to promote the return of cultural property to
its country of origin.

In Axum, 850km north of the capital Addis Ababa, residents took to the
streets, schools were closed for the day and the buildings festooned with
banners of red, green and yellow, the colours of the Ethiopian flag.

``The obelisk is my country's most precious treasure. This is a day I will
never forget and will tell my three children about its history, how it was
stolen and how it was returned,'' said Boursier Nawumie, who came home from
Paris to see the return.

Nesanet Asfaw, Ethiopian minister of state for information, thanked Italy
for its cooperation.``We have waited too long for this day,'' she said.

Italy's ambassador to Ethiopia, Guido Latella, said Italy is spending US$5
million (197.5 million baht) for the transport and re-raising of the
obelisk. The stone weighs 160 tonnes, and the protective casing adds 20
tonnes during transport.

The re-erection is considered by many a serious challenge even for modern
engineers, let alone its ancient builders who are said to have used
thousands of men and elephants to put it up. The obelisk is considered to be
among the finest of over 120 in Axum, the city of the legendary Queen of
Sheba who ruled 1,000 years before the birth of Christ.REUTERS