Dispute Heats Up between Germany and Turkey over Contested Artifacts

German museums and archaeologists fear that Turkey is punishing them for not repatriating contested artifacts. In a SPIEGEL interview, Turkish Culture Minister Ömer Çelik explains why Turkey is demanding both the artifacts and an apology.

A dispute is heating up between Turkey and Western countries, with ancient artifacts at stake. On one side, Ankara vehemently insists museums, including German ones, should return valuable archaeological treasures that Turkey alleges are wrongly in their possession. German archaeologists, on the other hand, refuse categorically to comply, saying the disputed items entered German collections legally, most of them over a century ago.

This battle over antiquities is affecting relations between the two countries. High-ranking officials at major museums in Berlin say the Turkish government has broken agreements concerning cooperation between the countries and is deliberately making it harder for German archaeologists to work in Turkey. The latter are worried that, in 2013, they may for the first time be denied coveted excavation permits.

Speaking with SPIEGEL last year, Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which oversees the state-owned museums in Berlin, harshly criticized the Turkish government. “Much is being lost because Turkey doesn’t have an established system for preserving historical artifacts, as Germany does,” Parzinger said. He also accused Ankara of increasing arrogance, saying that cultural heritage “is the last thing they think about.”

Parzinger’s comments provoked outrage in Turkey. “His message is: ‘They have no idea what they’re doing and don’t take care of things, so we’ll take care of them instead for the sake of the common good,’” raged the Turkish daily Hürriyet.

Now Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik, 44, responds in a SPIEGEL interview to Parzinger’s criticism. Çelik took office in January and is seen as a close confidant of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), the country’s conservative, Islamic governing party. Just as his predecessor did, Çelik is calling for the return of archaeological artifacts originating in Turkey. The objects would find a new home in Ankara’s Museum of the Civilizations. Planned as the world’s largest museum building, this facility is to open its doors in 2023, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish state.

SPIEGEL: Minister Çelik, during your recent trip to Berlin, you visited the Pergamon Altar, one of the main attractions at the city’s Museum Island. Do you believe the altar belongs here in Berlin or in Turkey, where it was discovered by German archaeologist Carl Humann in the 19th century?

Çelik: The Pergamon Altar is an important piece of our global cultural heritage. As a matter of principle, it’s preferable that cultural artifacts be displayed in the place from which they come. International laws concerning the preservation of such cultural treasures stipulate as much

via Dispute Heats Up between Germany and Turkey over Contested Artifacts – SPIEGEL ONLINE.

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