February  03, 2011

Dear Colleagues,

Dear Presidents of National and International NGOs, Universities, Public and Private Institutions,

Dear National and International Media Institutions, Correspondents, Writers,   

I would like to state that Friends of Cultural Heritage (FOCUH) (Kültürel Mirasın Dostları Derneği-KUMID) located in Istanbul, Turkey  as NGO  supports to "Preservationists Warn of Emergency in Egypt" published on http://www.culturalheritagelaw.org/egypt and inserted below.

 In addition to their message, I, on behalf of FOCUH, would like to ask;

a- All national museums and national and international collectors not to buy any objects from infighting countries, especially from Tunisia and Egypt; e-commerce enterprises on the internet not to put up objects from such countries for sale,

b- National and international mass media to provide more detailed information on the state of museums and archeological sites in countries where there is an ongoing conflict and turmoil.

Looking forward to hear from you soon, I remain

Yours sincerely

Saadet GUNER (Ms)

President

Friends of Cultural Heritage (FOCUH), Istanbul/ Turkey, (Kültürel Mirasin Dostlari Dernegi -KUMID, Istanbul/TURKEY)

Contact:Fax: (90-216) 450 65 94, E-Mail:  saadetg@tnn.net, s.guner@kumid.eu, Web Site: http://www.kumid.eu

LCCHP AND OTHER CULTURAL ORGANISATIONS WARN OF EMERGENCY in EGYPT,  January 30, 2011, http://www.culturalheritagelaw.org/egypt

 The undersigned cultural heritage and archaeological organizations express their concern over the loss of life and injury to humans during the protests in Egypt this week. We support the desire of the Egyptian people to exercise their basic civil rights. We also share their concern about the losses to cultural heritage that Egypt has already sustained and the threat of further such losses over the coming days.

 Brave actions taken by the citizens of Cairo and the military largely protected the Cairo Museum. However, numerous sites, museums and storage areas located outside of Cairo are even more vulnerable. As the prisons are opened and common criminals are allowed to escape, the potential for greater loss is created. A recent report from Egyptologist Professor Sarah Parcak of the University of Alabama in Birmingham  states that damage has been done to storage areas and tombs in Abusir and Saqqara and that looting is occurring there and in other locations.

 We call on the Egyptian authorities to exercise their responsibilities to protect their country’s irreplaceable cultural heritage. At the same time, we call on United States and European law enforcement agencies to be on the alert over the next several months for the possible appearance of looted Egyptian antiquities at their borders.

American Schools of Oriental Research, Archaeological Institute of America, Cultural Heritage Center, University of Pennsylvania, Cultural Heritage and Preservation Studies, Rutgers University, Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield

People to People Programme II (P2P) Brussels, Belgium, (29th March-1st April 2011)

Financed by the EU within the scope of EU-Turkey accession negotiations P2P aims to back up CSOs in Turkey on regional, national and EU level. Therefore with a view to ensuring that CSOs can have an idea on EU policies, programs, initiatives and best practices and that a mutual understanding could be developed in partnership perspective, CSOs are encouraged, within the context of the program, to visit EU institutions and related umbrella CSOs, to get an insight to these organizations and to build communication Networks.

“P2P Study Meeting”  was held in Brussels, Belgium (29th March-1st April 2011) in the presence of CSOs operating on preservation of cultural heritage from EU candidate countries (Turkey, Crotia and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia) and potential candidate countries (Albenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo [according to the Decision of United Nations Security Council numbered 1224],  Montenegro and Serbia). Moreover, Representatives of European Commission DG Enlargement, EU Council of Europe Education and Culture Commission, Culture Committee of the Council of Europe, UNESCO and Europa Nostra contributed the meeting by delivering speeches related to attitudes and policies of mentioned international organizations on preservation of culture and cultural heritage. To read and download the delivered documents and presentations click on the link below:

 http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/taiex/dyn/taiex-events/library/detail_en.jsp?EventID=44684