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Egyptology: Zahi Hawass confirms resignation

By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY
Updated

Egypt's chief antiquities official, Zahi Hawass, has confirmed his resignation late this week from his post, amid political turmoil and the looting of antiquities.

Hawass is well-known for his role in archaeological investigations and overseas exhibitions, appearing in documentaries and recently concluding an agreement with New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to return artifacts to his country. He had headed Egypt's Supreme Council of Antiquities for about a decade.

Some controversy has swirled in the Western press over Hawass's resignation, first reported Thursday by the New York Times. In a note emailed to USA TODAY on Saturday, Hawass confirmed his resignation from his recently-named post heading Egypt's antiquities ministry. Excerpts from his note follow:

Yes, it is true. I resigned because of three main things:

1. During the earlier protests, Egyptian youths and the police protected the museums and monuments. Only the Egyptian Museum in Cairo was broken into and, thank God, all the important objects inside it were safe and only a few things were lost or broken. A report of exactly what is missing is still being compiled, however. Magazines were looted, but after initially appearing to get back to normal, the situation has recently become worse and there are many reports of thefts and illegal excavation.

2. Since the revolution, many people have continued to protest over other things, such as against me over jobs and salaries. Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide everything that everyone is asking for. In the Ministry of State for Antiquities, we need money to protect sites and to restore buildings and objects too. We need the money brought in by tourists who visit our sites and museums to fund these things and, at the moment, there are no tourists.

3. Crooks in the Ministry and at the University of Cairo have started to attack me personally. I cannot stand this!

Most importantly, however, is that there are not enough police to protect the sites. I hope that my resignation will put pressure on the government to do something about this and also encourage the international community to do so as well.

The Egyptian antiquities that are on tour at the moment are safe and kept so with contracts. They are completely safe and when the police are back in force, everything here will be protected properly again too.

Hawass, 63, says, "I do not have concrete plans for the future yet. I am still thinking about what I should do."

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