As Zahi Hawass, Egypt's antiquities minister, traveled to Peru on Sunday to represent Egypt in the second Conference on Retrieving Stolen Artifacts, dozens of people protested outside the Ministry of Defense demanding his removal from office.
The calls for his resignation stem from a number of complaints against him, included claims of irregularites regarding antique artifacts stolen during the Egyptian uprising earlier this year.
"Zahi never provided official documents on what remains missing from the Egyptian Museum,” says Nasser Ibrahim, an employee at the ministry’s restoration department.
On 28 January (dubbed "The Day of Rage"), looters broke into the Egyptian Museum overlooking Tahrir Square, after which, dozens of artifacts were reported missing. Hawass gave a number of conflicting statements after the break-in, at times admitting to the looting of artifacts, while at others assuring a furious local and international community that Egypt’s largest museum was safe.
Reports have also suggested that not all artifacts at the museum are listed, making it impossible to determine what exactly was stolen.
"We demand that an international committee be formed to create a thorough inventory of artifacts at the museum," said Ibrahim.
“The security cameras at the museum were not working during the robbery. This is the responsibility of the former secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities,” says Intessar Gahrib, the media coordinator of the protest, in reference to Hawass, who held that position before he was appointed minister of antiquities.
“We have submitted documents proving our claims to the General Prosecutor’s office, and we are demanding that the ruling military council look at them. They prove his negligence and corruption,” adds Gharib.
Hawass was unavailable for comment. However, he spoke earlier of the Supreme Council of Antiquities’ efforts over the past few years in retrieving stolen artifacts and helping other countries do the same, Peru being one example. According to Hawass, Egypt played a pivotal role in the negotiations with the University of Yale to finally return 13 golden masks to Peru after a long-standing dispute.
He also spoke of an extensive “wish list” developed in Cairo last year, citing artifacts stolen from Egypt that are to be demanded from museums in Europe and the US. The recently missing items, however, are not on that list.
Translated from the Arabic Edition
