Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Saddam Hussein as a Role Model?

Paolo Ferri, the much criticized prosecutor of Marion True, has apparently advocated that Italy look to Saddam's Iraq as a role model for its antiquities policies. See
http://larryrothfield.blogspot.com/2011/01/italian-antiquities-looting-prosecutor.html and http://www.theartnewspaper.com/articles/“Clandestine%20excavation%20is%20a%20crime%20that%20is%20hard%20to%20prove”/22164

Ferri apparently likes Saddam's law because the dictate "was hard to contest." This speaks volumes about the mentality of Ferri and other "law enforcement types" associated with hard liners in the archaeological community. Obviously, fairness and interests beyond the state and archaeologists don't rate in this world view.

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