[MSN] FW: Cyprus Import Restrictions Signing Ceremony

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Dear Museum Security List:  This and the commentary may be of interest
to you readership.  

 

Peter K. Tompa 

Dillingham & Murphy, LLP

1155 Connecticut Avenue, NW

Washington, D.C. 20036

Telephone: (202) 835-9880

Facsimile: (202) 835-9885

pkt at dillinghammurphy.com

 

 

FYI 

Dave Welsh 
Unidroit-L Listowner 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Unidroit-L
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Unidroit-L>  
dwelsh46 at cox.net 

 

 -----Original Message----- 
From:   Dave Welsh [mailto:dwelsh46 at cox.net <mailto:dwelsh46 at cox.net> ] 
Sent:   Tuesday, August 07, 2007 10:49 AM 
To:     'Unidroit-L (Unidroit-L at yahoogroups.com)'; 'Ancientartifacts
(Ancientartifacts at yahoogroups.com)' 
Subject:        Cyprus Import Restrictions Signing Ceremony 

Remarks at the Cyprus MOA signing ceremony July 19, 2007 

http://www.state.gov/p/us/rm/2007/89515.htm
<http://www.state.gov/p/us/rm/2007/89515.htm>  

UNDER SECRETARY BURNS: ... The reason we're here today, ladies and
gentlemen, and I want thank you all for being here, is because Cyprus
and the United States have a joint mission. Well, let me put it another
way, the United States has an obligation to help a friend preserve its
cultural and archeological and religious heritage. And the Ambassador
and I have signed an extension of the Memorandum of Understanding which
will help Cyprus to battle those who would plunder its heritage and seek
to sell that heritage illegally in the United States and in other
countries of the world. 

We have only 11 agreements of this kind with countries around the world
and that with Cyprus is exceedingly important. And our aim is to be a
good friend because of the 150 [documented] archeological sites in
Cyprus, about 25 percent of them have been funded or are being run with
the help of American institutions and that's gone on for a long time.
And as Ambassador Mallias knows and I want to welcome the Ambassador
here today-- it's also true in Greece where for the better part of the
last century, there has been a joint mission between American
universities and archeological institutes in Greece, as well as in
Cyprus. And so we think it's our responsibility, Mr. Ambassador, to help
you preserve this incredible heritage that the Cypriot people enjoy and
must protect. 

Texts from the period that we're trying to protect are very, very rare.
And so we have to depend on artifacts, roughly from the eighth -- from
the 8th century, B.C., to about the time of 330 A.D. And of course, the
heritage that has been plundered most significantly is that of coins.
And so we hope, Mr. Ambassador, that by signing this agreement with you,
by putting the full force of the American Government and of our legal
system behind you and your government, we can help your people to
preserve these precious artifacts. 

... 

AMBASSADOR KAKOURIS: Thank you, Under Secretary Burns for your warm
words of welcome. And also allow me to thank you and your colleagues for
the courtesy of arranging today's ceremony. It's a wonderful occasion.
And let me also welcome and express my appreciation to all present for
taking time to be with us at this important event this afternoon. Under
Secretary, Ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen, it's a distinct pleasure
and honor to represent Cyprus at this ceremony in exchange of diplomatic
notes, marking the renewal of the Memorandum of understanding between
Cyprus and the United States to protect the rich, archeological and
ethnological heritage of Cyprus. 

On July 16, 2002, then Ambassador Marcoullis, now Foreign Minister
Marcoullis, signed on behalf of the Cyprus Government the initial
Memorandum of understanding to protect pre-classical and classical
archeological material from Cyprus. This agreement was amended last
August to include Byzantine period ecclesiastical and ritual
ethnological material and today coins, archeological material in the
metal category, vulnerable to pillage, covering the period from the end
of the 6th century B.C. to 235 A.D. have been added to the list of
restricted items. Consequently, import restrictions are now in effect
for these items as well. 

I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to the Government of the United
States for responding favorably to our request for the extension of the
Memorandum of understanding, for a further five years and for the
important recognitions that coins constitute an inseparable part of our
cultural heritage and that the pillage they are subjected to is the same
as other archeological artifacts. 

In fact, I was reminded just before we came in about something that I
had said in January when we were before the Committee and responding to
someone very much on the side of the coin collectors who -- talked about
the hobby of collecting coins. And I said to him: "It may be your hobby,
but it's our heritage!" and that is the way that we look at this issue. 

... 

********** 
COMMENTARY 
********** 

It's apparent that both UnderSecretary Burns and Ambassador Kakouris
were under the impression (which is not supported by any known evidence)
that coins have been and are now being "plundered" to a significant
degree in Cyprus. It's also apparent that "coin collectors" are looked
upon both by the Government of Cyprus and the State Department as
opponents.

In further remarks during this ceremony, Burns went on to stress the
importance of the relationship between Cyprus and the USA. He cited
cooperation of the Cypriot Government during the evacuation of 15,000
American citizens from Lebanon and close ties between the USA and
Greece, as well as the Cypriot-American community.

An issue that must now be confronted as proven fact: the US State
Department has placed temporary goals of advancing US foreign policy
above long standing, fundamental rights of American citizens. There is
no question that the entire process of extending the MOA with Cyprus to
include coins was conducted with significant bias against coin
collecting, and the intention of gaining continued goodwill from Cyprus
without regard for fairness toward legitimate interests of American
numismatists. The way in which inclusion of coins in this extension was
secretively introduced at the last possible moment has created deep
seated suspicions of improper collusion between the archaeology lobby,
the State Department bureaucracy and the Cypriot government. 

There are reasons for US numismatists to think that the intent (perhaps
even the letter) of the CPIA statute under which these restrictions have
been imposed was badly stretched during this process. There are also
reasons to think that the CPAC, intended by Congress to be an impartial
fact finding advisory body that would fairly represent every American's
interests, has instead (under direction of Maria Kouroupas) been
"packed" with members aligned with the archaeology lobby.

There is another relationship at stake here, apparently not considered
by the State Department: the relationship between the US Government and
the American people. If the American people can't rely upon their
government to give fair consideration to their own rights and interests,
if they instead see these rights and interests - so vital to them as
individuals - casually dismissed by bureaucrats stretching and twisting
the law to advance an ideological bias, why should the American people
continue to trust and support their government?

Americans have, historically, had a very special relationship with their
Government. It was founded upon principles then unique, and still not
very common in other societies today. It is unfortunately the case that
in many parts of the world people do not like, trust or (when they have
any realistic alternative) obey their governments. They do not believe
that their society is governed with their interests given paramount
consideration. They look upon those in positions of authority as their
enemies, even sometimes as dangerous predators. 

Perhaps the relationship between the US Government and the American
people should be given more weight in the decision making process.
Should large numbers of Americans come to consider State Department
bureaucrats to be their enemies not their servants, goodwill from the
government of an area the size of Rhode Island with fewer than 500,000
inhabitants may not seem very important in comparison.

Dave Welsh 
Unidroit-L Listowner 
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Unidroit-L
<http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Unidroit-L>  
dwelsh46 at cox.net