More re Hawass resignation

There are a number of stories circulating about Hawass's resignation from his post as Antiquities Minisiter in the government formed following the resignation of Mubarak.

Please note that although on his own blog (drhawass.com, see below) there is the transcript of an interview in which he confirms that he has resigned he has not, unless I have missed an official statement, indicated that he has formally resigned (i.e. offered formal resignation to the current governement). He has only signified that if he is asked to join the new cabinet he will not do so due to current security conditions.

Whether or not this means that he would retire from the antiquities service as a whole is unclear. Hawass appears to have made no statements about his plans for the future. The enthusiasm he has demonstrated for his prominent role in the past, together with his enjoyment of the media and his conviction that the public want him to have a dominant role in the management of Egyptian antiquities would all argue that his plans would probably still lie in the same area.

It seems that the allegations of corruption are also part of his reasoning, but if those were acted upon they would presumably follow him into whichever role he takes on in the future.

It should be added that in the interview posted today on his website he indicates that he might return to the role of Minister if the country was stable and the antiquities safe. There is the hint of a suggestion in all of this that if the government give greater powers of protection to the police at the sites he might revise his decision, although he may have lost a few government friends with some of his recent remarks. It seems a shame that he does not want to use his current role as a way of enforcing the safety of the monuments for which he assumed responsiblility rather than resigning and waiting for someone else to do it.

On the upside, the publicity surrounding his resignation has certainly brought attention to the situation and that's important and may have been part of his intention. Hawass has always been skilled at getting the attention of the media. Many official and unofficial statements have called upon Egypt to do something about its current difficulties. Hawass has so far rejected outside assistance but perhaps it is time for Egypt to reconsider that position. If Egypt cannot secure its heritage due to its current problems perhaps the time has come to ask for short-term emergency help.

There has been a call for Hawass to stay in his position (see Ahram Online piece below). Protestors gathered at the Giza Plateau to ask for Hawass to stay.


drhawass.com (Zahi Hawass)

See the above page for the full interview (although Hawass does not say who the interview was with, or where, if anywhere, it was published previously. Hawass says that a video will be appearing on his site soon. Here's an exerpt from the interview:

Q: Dr. Hawass, during many years you have been the image of modern Egyptology. Why are you leaving now?

A: “I am leaving because of three important reasons. The first reason is that, during the Revolution of January 25th the Egyptian Army protected the antiquity sites. And they protected Cairo Museum. But in the last 10 days the Army left. Actually, they have other tasks to do. Those who are now in charge of the protection of the antiquity sites are the Tourist Police. But there is no Tourist Police to protect the sites. Therefore, what happens? Egyptian criminals, thieves (you know, in every Revolution bad people always appear…), began to destruct tombs. They stole a tomb at Saqqara (the tomb of Hetepka) another tomb at Abu Sir (the tomb of Ptahshepses), another tomb at Giza. They attacked a storage magazine at Saqqara, they opened all the storage magazines. We don’t know how many artefacts are missing. They opened 2 storage magazines at Giza. One tomb dated 19th Dynasty, actually it is only one in the Delta. It was destructed, at Ismailiya. A store at El-Qantara-east has been broken and they took antiquities. They began to build houses, they began to excavate at night, everywhere. I had to write a report and to send it to the Director of UNESCO. That’s why at the Egyptian cabinet, yesterday, I had my speech and I said: “I cannot stay in Egypt and see antiquities being stolen, and I cannot do anything”. This is not me! I have been always fighting to return artefacts. I did fight Ahmed Ezz, the man in the Parliament, who was the most powerful man: he wanted antiquities to be sold in Egypt.
The second reason: crooks in the Antiquities Department. There are two of them… They have been accused of stealing antiquities. They have been accused of doing illegal things, all the time… Their files talk about this. A third person was a professor at the University who stayed almost 6 years as Antiquities Director, and he never did anything. As a corrupt man, he even signed for a rich lady from an Arab country to take manuscripts out of Egypt. These 3 people brought kids against me, to shout that they need jobs. I cannot give a job to everyone… They began to say in Egypt that I am stealing antiquities. How? How a man who gave his life to antiquities can steal antiquities? Therefore, I found that if I stay for six months from now in Antiquities, I will never be able to protect antiquities and I’ll never be able to work during this mess… During all my life, I have been excavating, discovering, writing books, giving lectures all over the world. Actually, I am responsible for bringing many tourists to Egypt, because of all the activities that I did. But, at the same time, now I cannot do this! Therefore, I decided to resign”.

USA Today, ScienceFair (Dan Vergano)

Some controversy has swirled in the Western press over Hawass's resignation, first reported Thursday by the New York Times. In a note emailed to USA TODAY on Saturday, Hawass confirmed his resignation from his recently-named post heading Egypt's antiquities ministry. Excerpts from his note follow:

Yes, it is true. I resigned because of three main things:

1. During the earlier protests, Egyptian youths and the police protected the museums and monuments. Only the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was broken into and, thank God, all the important objects inside it were safe and only a few things were lost or broken. A report of exactly what is missing is still being compiled, however. Magazines were looted, but after initially appearing to get back to normal, the situation has recently become worse and there are many reports of thefts and illegal excavation.

2. Since the revolution, many people have continued to protest over other things, such as against me over jobs and salaries. Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide everything that everyone is asking for. In the Ministry of State for Antiquities, we need money to protect sites and to restore buildings and objects too. We need the money brought in by tourists who visit our sites and museums to fund these things and, at the moment, there are no tourists.

3. Crooks in the Ministry and at the University of Cairo have started to attack me personally. I cannot stand this!

Most importantly, however, is that there are not enough police to protect the sites. I hope that my resignation will put pressure on the government to do something about this and also encourage the international community to do so as well.

The Egyptian antiquities that are on tour at the moment are safe and kept so with contracts. They are completely safe and when the police are back in force, everything here will be protected properly again too.

The Independent on Sunday

Egyptian newspapers yesterday widely quoted the fedora-wearing TV personality saying he was not willing to participate in the government of Essam Sharaf, named as the new Prime Minister by the military on Thursday, after the Mubarak-appointed Ahmed Shafiq resigned.

Dr Hawass told the Al-Masry-Al-Youm newspaper: "I will not return to the ministry again. During my life, I have never felt weak until the period which I assumed my position in the Ministry of Antiquities."

His statements appear to contradict an interview with The Independent last month, when he insisted Egypt was fully able to look after its treasures, which include the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, the pyramids of Giza and the Pharaonic treasures at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

ArtInfo

Egypt is putting together its first post-revolutionary government, but Zahi Hawass will not be a part of it. The crusading Egyptologist and antiquities minister has announced his intention to resign. Though he has not reported this on his frequently updated blog, he spoke to media outlets yesterday and today.

Egypt's prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, resigned yesterday, and his replacement, Essam Sharaf, has been asked by the army to form a caretaker cabinet. "If the government will ask me again, I will not accept this job," Hawass told the New York Times yesterday. Today he said to CNN that the police have been unable to protect Egypt's cultural heritage and that his resignation "is a protest, really, that not enough can be done now to protect these sites and treasures."

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

Zahi Hawass, minister of state for antiquities, has warned he will resign if asked to hold Egypt’s antiquities portfolio in the new cabinet led by Prime Minister Essam Sharaf.

Hawass told Ahram Online that his decision was taken following the failure of police to protect Egypt’s antiquities and archaeological sites.

“I cannot be the protector of Egypt’s antiquities when they are subjected to looting like that because of the police's absence,” Hawass told Ahram online.

Ahram Online (Nevine El-Aref)

At the footsteps of the Great Pyramid in Giza, in the garden of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir, and before the façade of Luxor and Karnak temples, hundreds of protestors gathered asking for the continuation of Zahi Hawass in his current post as minister of state for antiquities affairs.

Yesterday Hawass warned that he will resign if asked to hold the antiquities portfolio in Essam Sharaf’s cabinet, due to police failure to protect Egypt’s antiquities. He said he could not be the protector of Egypt’s antiquities when the police remain absent. Last week, police failed to protect several antiquities and archaeological sites.

Ali El-Asfar, head of the Giza Plateau, called on Hawass to reconsider his decision, saying “Hawass is the only person that could do something positive for archaeology, through his ability to hold responsibility and his network connections.”

Mostafa Waziri, head of antiquities on Luxor’s West Bank, told Ahram Online that Hawass is very capable. During his tenure as secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), which commenced in 2002, Hawass did a lot not only for archaeology but for archaeologists as well.