CAIRO: Protection of Egypt’s antiquities was the subject of heated debate at the People’s Assembly as steel mogul and senior National Democratic Party MP Ahmed Ezz and Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni argued over private ownership of antiquities.
The point of contention was Article 8, which bans the trade, or any other form of disposal, of antiquities unless there is a written consent from the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA). It also states that the council has the right to take the antiquity from the owner and offer a reasonable compensation.
Ezz argued that the majority of Egyptians don’t know the characteristics of an antiquity and some people inherit an antiquity unknowingly, and so penalizing them would be unfair.
However, Hosni, who cancelled a trip to Luxor to attend the draft law’s discussion at the PA, said there are set criteria for identifying antiquities and such owners should report these inherited pieces to the SCA.
Minster of State for Legal Affairs and Parliamentary Councils, Mofid Shehab, proposed to add a clause to the articles which states that anyone in possession of an antiquity has to notify the council within a year of the law coming into force.
Parliament Speaker Ahmed Fathi Sorour said that the crime of owning an antiquity is only punishable if the owner knows that it is an antiquity and doesn’t report it, and he postponed the discussion of this article until the entire law is discussed.
Independent MP Alaa Abdel Meniem says that the law needs more work especially in defining what constitutes an antiquity.
In its Tuesday edition, independent daily, Al-Masry Al-Youm, reported that Ezz proposed, to much uproar, to permit the trading of antiquities inside Egypt. On Wednesday, the newspaper then reported that when asked about this, Hosni said, “We have closed this subject and it will not be discussed any more.
Other parts of the draft law include raising the entry fees to historical places, which got a strong disapproval from MPs who said that it should be decreased to allow Egyptians to visit them.
Citing a worldwide hike in entry fees, Hosni said the increase will be used for maintenance and protecting these places, according to official news portal Egynews.net.
SCA Chief Zahi Hawass was also present at the PA for the discussion of the law, along with the council’s legal advisor, judge Ashraf El-Ashmawy. He told the media that a harsher punishment of smuggling antiquities is needed.
“Smuggling is a great crime and its continuous existence means that the current law is ineffective and a harsher penalty needs to be enforced, Hawass said.
An article which has unanimous approval is requiring royalties be paid whenever replicas are made of museum pieces or ancient monuments.
Independent MP Gamal Zahran personally supports the law as it protects Egypt’s heritage. “Lately there have been numerous cases of antiquities smuggling which calls for further protection measures. In addition it is only fair that we profit when people use our civilization for commercial purposes, he explained.
