Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn urged the international community to help out in the restitution of Ethiopia’s heritages looted during previous foreign invasions.
The Prime Minister, who was in Abu Dhabi to attend the conference on cultural heritages, said the process for the restoration of the stolen treasures has been slow.
As a country of diverse cultural heritages, Ethiopia has been subject to heritage plundering and looting both in time of foreign invasions as well as trafficking, he said.
Ethiopia has been a victim of cultural heritage plundering and looting due to foreign aggressions, trafficking and smuggling, which resulted in loss of many ancient valuable manuscripts, religious objects, archeological remains, among others in the past.
The manuscripts that illegally taken out of the country include books on religion, medicine, astronomy, calendar, philosophy, law and administration.
The 1868 British expedition and the 1935 Italian invasion are among the times that led to the looting of Ethiopia’s heritages.
Over 3,500 Ethiopian manuscripts are believed to be found in many European countries and the U.S, Hailemariam said, adding that looting and trafficking of heritages is a problem for most of the developing countries.
More serious than looting and trafficking of heritages, according to the Premier, is the deliberate destruction of heritages, which is part of the deculturalization process used by terrorist groups has become a danger.
Being home to diverse cultural heritages, Ethiopia is deeply concerned with this deliberate destruction of heritages, intended to de-culturalize the world, Hailemariam said.
By destructing cultural heritages, groups such as ISIS and AL-Qaeda forced communities to abandon their culture, and customs with the deliberate destruction of ancient heritages in Syria Iraq and Afghanistan showcasing the case.
Hailemariam stressed on the need for a strong cooperation to effectively safeguard cultural heritages from armed conflicts, terrorism, and illicit trafficking.
The conference on Safeguarding Cultural Heritage underway in Abu Dhabi is deliberating on ways of strengthening cooperation to end atrocities on heritages.
The conference to be concluded Saturday, is expected to adopt the Abu Dhabi Declaration in support of UNESCO’s global mandate to protect cultural heritage during armed conflicts.
The mandate will define practical and sustainable means to safeguard cultural resources, as well as create a network of safe havens for threatened heritage.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Hailemariam has held bilateral discussions with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Shiek Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan on ways of expanding the bilateral relationship between the two countries.
Ewnetu Bilata, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister told ENA that the discussions were focused on boosting cooperation in investment, trade and tourism so as to build a relationship based on mutual benefit.
In addition to boosting bilateral ties, the two sides discussed issues related to the peace and stability in the East African region.
According to the Special Assistant, the two sides discussed on the need to enhance the role the countries have been playing in building lasting peace in the region.(ENA)
No comments:
Post a Comment