Turkey wages 'cultural war' in pursuit of its archaeological treasures
Ankara accused of blackmailing museums into returning artefacts while allowing excavation sites to be destroyed Turkey has been accused of cultural chauvinism and attempting to blackmail some of the world's most important museums in the wake of its demands for the return of thousands of archaeological treasures.According to cultural chiefs in Berlin, Paris and New York, Turkey has threatened to bar foreign archaeologists from excavation sites in the country by not renewing their digging permits if governments refuse to return artefacts that Ankara says were unlawfully removed from Turkish soil. It has also threatened to halt the lending of its treasures to foreign museums, they say.The government in Ankara, emboldened by the country's growing diplomatic and economic clout, has repeatedly said that the retrieval of the artefacts is part of a policy it intends to pursue for years, if necessary, calling it a "cultural war". However, it denies withholding permits as a form of leverage.But the German Archaeological Institute, founded in 1829 and responsible for some of Turkey's most important excavation sites, says it has already felt the wrath of the Turkish authorities, after they threatened to withdraw excavation permits unless a huge 3,300-year-old Hittite sphinx was returned. When the sphinx arrived back in Turkey to much fanfare last year, permits for reconditioning and restoration work were renewed but those for digging remained outstanding.Hermann Parzinger, president...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Constanze Letsch, Kate Connolly Tags: The Guardian Museums Germany Culture World news Archaeology Heritage Europe Recep Tayyip Erdogan Features Turkey Science Source Type: news
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