CAIRO: The General Union of Arab Archaeologists issued a statement calling on Egypt's ruling military council and interim government to turn the Ministry of State for Antiquities Affairs into an independent authority. They also demanded that the head of the authority be at the rank of ‘minister' without attending meetings of the Cabinet. The union called on archaeologists to stop insulting those who work to protest Egypt's heritage and demanded that those with serious evidence offer their complaints to Egypt's Attorney General. Egypt's antiquities ministry is currently in a state of confusion. Former minister ZahiHawass was relieved from his position during the recent ministerial shuffle and Cairo University professor Abdel Fatah al-Banna was slated to replace him. However, al-Banna was relieved of the post before assuming it because of the anger of archaeologists at the appointment. Finally, the government decided to cancel the recently created ministry – again – and return it to being an authority, the Supreme Council of Antiquities, related to the Egyptian cabinet. The future of the ministry remains uncertain, as does the status of Hawass as its head.
