Accuses government of colluding to destroy Egypt's antiquities

The Egyptian MP, Fayka Fahim, said that the theft of Egyptian antiquities and presenting it in museums outside Egypt, and the inability of the state to restore it, led some to call for drafting a legislation that preserves the history of three thousand years of theft and smuggling.

She submitted an urgent statement to the Prime Minister, and Minister of Antiquities on the government' neglect of the archaeological and historical sites, especially the phenomenon of real estate demolition of an archaeological nature, which severely worsened lately.

In exclusive interview with Arabs Today, said that the residents of Rushdy district, in Alexandria, were surprised after demolishing the historical villa (Shekoriel), in the absence of the executive bodies in the province, to join the others historical villas, which were demolished in Alexandria.

The MP said that this phenomenon are not limited to Alexandria only, but the it has spread and expanded to various other provinces, where a state of anger spread among the people of Ismailia, after the demolition of an antique villa without interference from executive bodies.

Regarding the other areas, she indicated that the area of Kafr El-Ta'ameen in al-Gamaliya,  which is an open museum of Islamic archaeological treasures from the Fatimid, Ayyubid and Ottoman eras, has turned to the most important areas of trafficking in antiquities.

Regarding the responsible for this issue, the Egyptian MP accused the government of complicity in these heinous campaign targeting traditional places because the government wants to exploit some of the archaeological areas as divans of the government, making it susceptible to damage a few years later.

The Egyptian MP called for accounting both the Prime Minister and Minister of Antiquities about neglecting the archaeological areas. She also called for establishing   of a national council for antiquities belonging to the Presidency of the Republic to preserve these antiquities.

Regarding the formation of the Council, the MP explained that consists of representatives from the Ministries of Antiquities, Endowments, provinces and Tourism police as well as public figures, archaeological experts and scholars to carry out a national project to save the monuments.