CAIRO: As part of Egypt's chief Egyptologist's effort to have all artifacts returned to the country, Secretary General of the Supreme Council for Antiquities, Zahi Hawass, has cut ties with France's Louvre museum, marking the first time one of the outspoken Egyptologist's threats have been followed through. It comes as Hawass continues to put forward an international effort to return the country's pieces that are currently housed abroad. His office told Bikya Masr that this is part of the ongoing pressure to “get all pieces back into the country of their origin. It only makes sense that Egypt have what is historically hers.” The official, who said the office would make a further statement on the issue, says the Louvre had refused to deal with Hawass in coming to “terms of a return, so we followed through with the only steps possible.” Hawass himself issued a statement saying that no archaeological expeditions sponsored by France's premier museum would be allowed to work in Egypt due to the disagreement, which could put dozens of French Egyptologists out of work. “It is unfortunate that they would do this because the museum administration is different from us workers who continue to do great stuff and deal positively with the Supreme Council of Antiquities,” began one French archaeologist, who had planned to spend the winter excavating a site in southern Egypt, but is now uncertain of their future. “I don't know if I will be allowed to stay, or if I will be forced to leave the country. We have always worked with Egyptians under Hawass' command, so it doesn't make sense.” Hawass is making a statement, most believe, where continued threats of expelling archaeologists from the country have been met without consequences. Until now. Hawass told the Associated Press Wednesday that the Louvre had ignored repeated Egyptian requests for the return of four reliefs the Egyptologist says were stolen from a tomb in Luxor's Valley of the Kings in the 1980s. The Supreme Council of Antiquities said that the French museum had acquired the artifacts last year, but had not been open to returning them to Egypt. Since 2002, when Hawass took over as head of the SCA, he has been pushing hard for foreign museums to return artifacts to Egypt ahead of the construction of a massive new museum near the pyramids. Hawass has been in the spotlight of late, after coming under fire from rights groups, who have accused the chief of attempting to silence those whose views differ from his own. BM
