CAIRO: Last week’s foiling by police of an attempt to smuggle 269 artifacts out of Egypt was just the latest in a series of such incidents.
One such attempt that succeeded was in late 2018. Police in the Italian city of Naples said they had seized 23,700 smuggled artifacts, including 118 that were smuggled in a container from Egypt’s port city of Alexandria to the southern Italian port of Salerno.
At the time, Shaaban Abdel-Gawad, director general of the Egyptian Retrieved Artifacts Department, said the artifacts were stolen as a result of illegal excavations.
Investigations revealed that the perpetrator was Ladislav Otakar Skakal, Italy’s former honorary consul in Luxor.
In January, an Egyptian court sentenced him to 30 years in absentia, since he had already left the country.
Egyptian authorities also found many artifacts in Skakal’s home in Cairo, as well as in a safe he was renting in a private bank.
At the same time, the Kuwaiti General Administration of Customs said it had seized a Pharaonic sarcophagus lid that was smuggled inside a sofa from Cairo airport.
In August 2018, the Antiquities Ministry said 32,638 artifacts had been lost in the last 50 years.
Egypt has retrieved 1,000 artifacts from 10 countries in the last three years, the ministry added.
Mohamed El-Kahlawy, head of the General Union of Arab Archaeologists, said the 2011 revolution in Egypt caused an unstable security situation that paved the way for more illegal excavations and thefts of artifacts.
From 2011 to 2014, Egypt lost $3 billion from the theft of artifacts from archaeological sites, museums and places of worship, according to the Washington-based group Alliance Archaeology.
“Christie’s auction house sells Egyptian antiquities in public,” said Egyptian artifacts expert Bassam El-Shammaa.
Researcher Monica Hanna said Egyptian monument warehouses are “full of unregistered artifacts that are being sold.”
Unregistered artifacts are impossible to retrieve. Egyptian artifacts can be purchased via online sites, including eBay.
Other sites display videos of Pharaonic tombs for those interested in taking part in excavation work. Such videos have hundreds of thousands of views.
Egypt’s Law on the Protection of Antiquities stipulates 25 years in jail for those found guilty of smuggling artifacts. There is no statute of limitations.
Anyone found guilty of smuggling an artifact outside Egypt could be fined between 1 million Egyptian pounds ($63,380) and 7 million.
The tools, equipment, machines and cars used in the process, as well as the stolen artifacts, are confiscated by the Supreme Council for Antiquities.
The law stipulates 10 years in jail for anyone who secretly carries out digging or hides an artifact or part of it with the intention of smuggling it.
It also stipulates imprisonment of between three and seven years, as well as a fine of no less than 500,000 Egyptian pounds, for destroying, deliberately damaging, mutilating or changing an artifact’s original features, and deliberately separating parts of a transferred or permanently placed monument.
Egypt grapples with smuggling of artifacts
https://arab.news/8gd4d
Egypt grapples with smuggling of artifacts
- Egypt’s Law on the Protection of Antiquities stipulates 25 years in jail for those found guilty of smuggling artifacts
- Anyone found guilty of smuggling an artifact outside Egypt could be fined between 1 million Egyptian pounds ($63,380) and 7 million
IMF approves Egypt’s expanded, $8 billion loan program
- The Gaza crisis has affected Egypt's tourism industry and Houthi attacks on Red Sea vessels has slowed down Suez Canal revenues
- Tourism and shipping are two of Egypt’s main sources of foreign exchange
CAIRO: Egypt received approval on Friday from the International Monetary Fund’s executive board for an expanded, $8 billion financial support program that enables the immediate release of $820 million, the IMF said in a statement.
The IMF agreed to widen the agreement after Egypt’s wobbly economy was further hurt by the Gaza crisis, which slowed growth in tourism and triggered attacks from Yemen on shipping in the Red Sea, halving Suez Canal revenue. Tourism and shipping are two of Egypt’s main sources of foreign exchange.
“The difficult external environment generated by Russia’s war in Ukraine was subsequently aggravated by the conflict in Gaza and Israel, as well as tensions in the Red Sea,” the IMF statement said.
The agreement expanded on an earlier $3 billion, 46-month Extended Fund Facility signed in December 2022 which was put on hold after Egypt did not follow through on pledges to unpeg its currency, speed up the sale of state assets and implement other reforms.
The expanded agreement was first announced on March 6, when Egypt’s central bank hiked key interest rates by six percentage points and allowed the country’s currency to plummet against the dollar.
“A strong economic stabilization plan is being implemented to correct policy slippages,” the IMF said, focusing on a liberalized foreign exchange system, tightening of fiscal and monetary policy, reduced public investment and greater space for the private sector.
This would include a continued reduction of subsidies, which consume a large portion of government expenditures. Last week Egypt raised prices on a wide range of fuel products.
“It remains essential to replace untargeted fuel subsidies with targeted social spending as part of a sustained fuel price adjustment package,” the IMF statement said.
The IMF also said Egypt had established a new framework to monitor and control public investment that would help manage excess demand, but that the state and military would need to withdraw from economic activity.
“Integrating transparently off-budget investment into macroeconomic policy decision making will be critical,” it added.
Egypt has come under pressure to reduce spending on large public projects, especially a new $60 billion capital it has been building the desert east of Cairo.
Egypt last month agreed to sell the rights to develop prime land at Ras El Hekma on the Mediterranean coast to the United Arab Emirates for $24 billion. This month Egypt also received pledges of $6 billion in financing from the World Bank Group and $8.1 billion from the European Union.
The statement projected that Egypt’s growth would slow to 3 percent in the financial year to end-June 2024 from 3.8 percent in 2022/23, before recovering to about 4.5 percent in 2024/25.
Mayor Imamoglu’s political future may ride on Istanbul election result
- You can change what is going wrong in Turkey with one vote
ISTANBUL: Bruised and fractured by Tayyip Erdogan’s victory in the 2023 general elections, Turkiye’s opposition aims to land a blow in Sunday’s local polls. The outcome is tied to the future of its biggest hope, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.
The nationwide municipal votes on March 31 could reinforce President Erdogan’s control after two decades of running Turkiye, or signal change in the NATO members’ deeply divided political landscape.
The results will likely be shaped partly by economic woes driven by rampant inflation and by opposition voters weighing the government’s performance and hopes for political change.
Opposition hopes of transformation were fueled by local election results 2019 when they defeated Erdogan’s AK Party in the main two cities, Istanbul and Ankara, which the AKP and its predecessors had run for 25 years.
But Erdogan bounced back last year, retaining the presidency and winning a parliamentary majority with nationalist allies despite voters’ concerns about a cost-of-living crisis. In response, a broad opposition alliance splintered.
Polls show Imamoglu and the AKP candidate, former minister Murat Kurum, in a close race in Istanbul, a city of 16 million, where Erdogan became mayor in the 1990s.
The incumbent opposition mayor leads in the capital, Ankara.
Erdogan has been seeking a bigger role for Turkiye on the world stage and sought to repair frayed ties with many nations in recent years, including in the Middle East.
However, during campaigning, he said Turks should vote for the AKP to defend against unspecified enemies.
“Those who cannot stomach Turkiye’s increasing power in the region and world, or its principled and fair stance, are currently waiting in ambush,” he said on Monday at a rally in the northern province of Tokat.
“In 2019, when Erdogan and the AK Party lost Istanbul, it was a big blow and a scratch on Erdogan’s reputation. Up until then, he was unbeatable, invincible,” said Yetkin Report analyst Murat Yetkin, describing a win in Istanbul as vital for Erdogan.
“If he does so, that means that he will be able to extend and endorse his power to local administrations,” he said. Analysts say Erdogan may then bid to change the constitution to enable him to stand as president again in 2028.
An Imamoglu victory would, however, revitalize the opposition, said political analyst Berk Esen of Sabanci University.
“If the opposition candidate can win in Istanbul, then at least the main opposition party will be able to gain sufficient strength to challenge Erdogan in the coming years,” he said.
It was a message that Imamoglu sought to convey.
“Turkiye’s destiny is in your hands,” Imamoglu said in an appeal to young Turks in Istanbul.
“You can change what is going wrong in Turkiye with one vote.”
Erdogan’s prospects of winning back Istanbul may also depend on Kurdish voters, many of whom, according to pollsters, are expected to put aside party loyalty and back Imamoglu.
For other voters, the local elections offer an opportunity to judge the government’s economic performance.
While the economy may be a key factor influencing voters nationwide, the focus of attention will be on Istanbul and the message it gives on the direction that Turkiye is taking.
“If he loses this election, the legend of Ekrem Imamoglu will be in great trouble,” said MAK Research head Mehmet Ali Kulat. But his victory will change the picture.
Gaza fisherman braves Israeli navy fire to support his family
- At least 32,623 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground offensive into Gaza, according to the Health Ministry there
GAZA: Before the Gaza war, Palestinian fisherman Jalal Qaraan navigated his small boat for long distances for a good catch. These days, he says, merely casting his nets could be deadly if he draws the wrath of the Israeli navy.
Israeli airstrikes and shelling have reduced large swaths of the densely populated coastal Gaza Strip to rubble and killed more than 32,000 Palestinians as the war with the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas rages.
There are also plenty of dangers at sea for fishermen like Qaraan, who must support his family.
“When we attempt to go out ... we are besieged with gunfire, bombarded with shells, sound bombs. It’s always a risk. Entering the water is a risk,” he said as he pulled his boat to shore after catching a few fish.
“There is not a day that goes by without them coming at us. It’s all fear and terror, but despite this, I go in to be able to provide a secure living for my children.”
The Israeli military was not immediately available for comment.
Qaraan is especially eager to work the seas during Ramadan when families enjoy large meals together after fasting. But festivities are hard to come by these days.
At least 32,623 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s air and ground offensive into Gaza, according to the Health Ministry there.
Thousands more are believed to be lying dead under rubble, and more than 80 percent of the 2.3 million population have been displaced, many of them at risk of famine.
The war began when militants broke through the border on Oct. 7 and rampaged through nearby communities, killing 1,200 people and abducting 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Judges at the International Court of Justice on Thursday unanimously ordered Israel to take all the necessary and effective action to ensure basic food supplies without delay to the Palestinian population in Gaza.
The court said the Palestinians in Gaza face worsening conditions of life and famine and starvation are spreading.
“As for the fishing, there is no quantity. Today in Ramadan, I’m fasting, risking my life to get one or two kilos of fish to eat or to sell them to buy household necessities,” said Qaraan, preparing his fishing net.
Other Gazans are feeling the effects of the fishing crisis.
As she prepared to break the fast, Umm Al-Zein, one of the hundreds of thousands of displaced Gazans, said her children craved fish.
“Palestine is known for its great fish and seafood, but due to the war, fish is not available. Unfortunately, we have not eaten fish since before Oct. 7,” she said.
Jordanians protest peace treaty with Israel in fresh rallies
- The Israeli Embassy, where protesters have gathered for five straight days, has long been a flashpoint when violence has escalated between Palestinians and Israel
AMMAN: Thousands of Jordanians rallied near the Israeli Embassy on a fifth day of large protests against Israel, calling for an end to Jordan’s unpopular peace treaty with its neighbor to the West.
The protesters in an affluent neighborhood of Amman carried Palestinian flags and chanted: “They said Hamas is terrorist. All of Jordan is Hamas.”
“No Zionist embassy on Jordanian land,” protesters also cried, demanding that authorities close the embassy and end a 1994 peace treaty that normalized ties with Israel.
Placards declared “Amman-Gaza one destiny,” while other posters depicted Hamas’ masked military spokesman, Abu Obaida, who has become a folk hero for many in the Arab world.
The Israeli Embassy, where protesters have gathered for five straight days, has long been a flashpoint when violence has escalated between Palestinians and Israel.
Heavy security was aimed at curbing the number of protesters, and the rally went peacefully, unlike earlier this week when riot police fired tear gas and struck protesters with batons to prevent them from storming the embassy.
Hundreds of demonstrators, however, defied police orders to disperse and sat on the streets, saying they would remain until the early hours of Friday morning.
Authorities in Jordan have stepped up arrests and harassment of demonstrators in a months-long campaign that has been slammed by international rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch for restricting freedom of expression.
Passions have run high among Jordanians, many of whom are of Palestinian origin, over Israel’s relentless Gaza bombing campaign against Hamas that has killed tens of thousands of civilians, according to Gaza officials, and flattened many parts of the densely populated enclave.
Jordan has seen some of the biggest outpourings of public anger in the region since the war was triggered when Hamas fighters crossed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.
Authorities in Jordan say peaceful protests are allowed but that they would not tolerate any attempt to exploit anger against Israel to create havoc or efforts to reach a border zone with the Israeli-occupied West Bank or Israel.
Jordan’s peace treaty with Israel is widely unpopular among many citizens who see normalization as betraying the rights of their Palestinian compatriots.
Japan to resume funding to UN Palestinian refugee agency
- The Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Japan and the UNRWA confirmed that they will advance final coordination about necessary efforts to resume Japan’s contribution”
TOKYO: Japan is preparing to resume funding to the UN’s crisis-hit Palestinian refugee agency, which coordinates nearly all aid to Gaza, the government said.
Once the sixth-largest contributor to the agency, Japan joined more than a dozen countries in pausing funding after Israel claimed that 12 of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza employees were involved in the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas attack.
Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa met with UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini in Tokyo to discuss the agency’s measures to strengthen governance and transparency.
The Foreign Ministry said in a statement: “Japan and the UNRWA confirmed that they will advance final coordination about necessary efforts to resume Japan’s contribution.” Japanese media reports said the funding suspension, which was lifted in January, was expected to resume in the first half of April.
The abrupt suspension of funding has threatened UNRWA’s efforts to deliver desperately needed aid in Gaza, where the UN has warned of an impending famine.
Australia, Canada, Sweden, and others said they were resuming aid this month.
Lazzarini said on Tuesday that the agency has enough funds to keep operating until at least the end of May.
The ministry said that Kamikawa “pointed out the importance of ensuring transparency and traceability of fund flows and the neutrality of UNRWA staff.”
The UN has launched both an internal and an independent investigation but has said Israel has not provided it with any evidence to support the claims against its workers.