[CPProt.net] Egypt's Culture Ministry plagued by bickering

[MSN CPPnet (Ton Cremers)]

Egypt's Culture Ministry plagued by bickering

By Ramsay Short 
Daily Star senior writer
Thursday, October 06, 2005


BEIRUT: Fires, damaged statues and bickering - it has not been a good few
weeks for the Egyptian Culture Ministry. First, Culture Minister Farouk
Hosni resigned over a fire that broke out in the Beni Sweif Cultural Palace
south of Cairo in September in which 30 people died and for which the
ministry was widely held responsible. 

Hosni, a painter by profession, had his resignation rescinded by President
Hosni Mubarak three days after he tendered it, responding to the pleas of
some 400 high-profile intellectuals for him to stay.

"Despite conceding the ministry's accountability, I had the most to lose in
such a disaster," Hosni later said. "But I realized the charges were
directed against me personally, even before investigations began. Feeling I
had embarrassed the regime, I decided to bear the political responsibility
myself."

Now Hosni is arguing with Antiquities Chief Zahi Hawas over reports about
mysterious damage to a Pharaonic statue during restoration work at the
Egyptian Museum.

On Tuesday he ordered a probe into the reports, asking Attorney General
Maher Abdel-Wahid to investigate the matter only hours after the country's
top antiquities official dismissed the reports as being unfounded. The
Egyptian press, quoting museum officials, had reported that a statue of
Khafre (2576-2551 BC), the fourth dynasty king and builder of the second
pyramid at Giza, had been found damaged in the basement.

Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Hawas, however,
refuted the claims the Agence France Presse reported, saying they were
"untrue." He said the statue the press described was small and bore no
inscriptions to suggest that it was of Khafre. 

"This statue is in good condition and was never damaged since its discovery
in 1988 west of the pyramid of King Khafre and transferred to the Egyptian
Museum," the statement said.  
 

But Hosni insisted that he was determined to find the officials responsible
for wrecking the treasure, ignoring his subordinate's denials. 

On top of this latest uproar, numerous artifacts have been vanishing from
museums and archaeological sites around the country, leading to accusations
that Egypt is not doing enough to protect its rich history or ensure safety
standards at entertainment venues. Instead the Culture Ministry officials
are arguing among themselves.

A few weeks ago, officials announced the disappearance of three artifacts
from the Egyptian Museum basement, which houses thousands of priceless
treasures from different periods.

Many other artifacts have also vanished from high-security sites around the
country, some of them eventually traced to international antiquities
dealers. 

On a positive note, in early August a Cairo court sentenced seven Egyptians
to jail terms of up to 55 years in the biggest antiquities smuggling case in
the country's history.

The prosecutions followed the seizure of a cache of more than 600 artifacts
from the time of the Pharaohs at London's Heathrow airport.

Meanwhile, the Greco-Roman museum in the Mediterranean port city of
Alexandria has been closed and will remain so for two years to allow
restoration work to proceed, the Supreme Council of Antiquities announced.
Hosni said the work will include restoration of the museum building and its
library. The museum's showcases are to be improved to ensure better display
of the artifacts. 

The Greco-Roman museum houses a large number of Egypt's antiquities from the
period roughly falling between 300 BC and the Arab conquest in the seventh
century. 

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/