Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Eurocrats Find Little Evidence Terrorist Artifacts Entering Market, But that Does Not Stop Calls for Draconian Legislation

Ivan Maquisten writes that EU bureaucrats believe the absence of evidence that ISIS looted material is entering the market is reason for more draconian controls, not fewer.  The bureaucratic thinking is that vast amounts of looted material must be entering the market unnoticed under current customs regimes.  Of course, those who seek to justify draconian regulation will not consider the distinct possibility the extent of ISIS looting has been greatly overstated by Russian and Syrian propagandists and archaeological advocacy groups for their own purposes.  Moreover, it does not help that the EU cultural bureaucracy-- like its US counterpart-- only considers archaeologists and foreign governments legitimate stakeholders in the issue.  No wonder the cultural bureaucracy is so distrusted by collectors and the small businesses of the antiquities and numismatic trade. 

1 comment:

John H said...

Hello Peter:

It's the usual near incestuous, hand-in-blouse relationship between "the EU cultural bureaucracy-- like its US counterpart-- only considers archaeologists and foreign governments legitimate stakeholders in the issue."

Neither is it so hard to see why - given scandals like this - Britain voted to free itself from the clutches EU, and God willing, we'll be home free in 2019.

What I find incredible is that, at best, the US authorities seem to have been sucked in by extreme Leftist archaeo-politico manoeuvring; at worst, this is being deliberately kept out of sight of those who really matter.

Best wishes

John Howland
UK Collector & Detectorist