Acropolis Museum
April 18, 2016
Αξιότιμες κυρίες και κύριοι καλημέρα σας και σας ευχαριστώ θερμά για την παρουσία σας.
Είναι ιδιαίτερη τιμή για μένα να βρίσκομαι σήμερα εδώ στο Μουσείο Ακρόπολης όχι μόνο ως πρέσβης της χώρας μου, αλλα και ως λάτρης και σπουδαστής της αρχαίας ελληνικής κληρονομιάς και του ελληνικού πολιτισμού γενικότερα.
Πολλοί από εσάς μάλλον δεν θα ξέρετε ότι όταν ήμουν νέος φοιτητής στο πανεπιστήμιο, είχα έρθει στην Ελλάδα για να μελετήσω τον αρχαίο ελληνικό πολιτισμό και είχα επισκεπτεί τότε σχεδόν όλους τους αρχαιολογικούς χώρους στην Αθήνα και αρκετούς άλλους ανά την χώρα. Ως πρέσβης τα τελευταία τρία χρόνια, μου δόθηκε η ευκαιρία να ξαναζήσω αυτήν την μοναδική εμπειρία ακόμη μία φορά και νιώθω ιδιαίτερα ευτυχής γι’αυτό!
Οπως αντιλαμβάνεστε, η προστασία των αρχαιοτήτων και η παράνομη διακίνησή τους από αρχαιοκάπηλους είναι προτεραιότητα για την αμερικανική κυβέρνηση και εμένα προσωπικά. Σ’ αυτό το πλαίσιο λοιπόν, χαιρετίζουμε, επικροτούμε και στηρίζουμε όλες τις προσπάθειες που κάνετε προς αυτήν την κατεύθυνση.
Θα ήθελα να συνεχίσω στην αγγλική γλώσσα, αν μου επιτρέπετε…
We have a great group of American and Greek experts assembled here today, and your common cause represents the best of our bilateral efforts. Thank you to the Hellenic Police who have taken the time to attend and work with your American counterparts.
And welcome to the American experts who have traveled here to Athens to collaborate with your Greek colleagues. I’ve heard that interest on the American side to come to Athens for this workshop was quite high and that numerous people were selflessly volunteering for this duty. Given that it was snowing on the east coast just a little over a week ago, I can understand why people would have been particularly interested in this assignment.
And we could not ask for a more fitting and inspiring setting for this workshop to take place. Thank you to the director and staff of the Acropolis Museum for allowing us to have this workshop in a place where we are surrounded by exactly the type of treasured artifacts we are jointly trying to protect. You only have to look out the window, or take a step into the exhibition halls, to be reminded of the value of what we are trying to accomplish.
A very special thank you to the leadership of the Ministry of Culture. This conference represents a very tangible outcome of the Memorandum of Understanding our two countries signed five years ago to protect cultural property. We appreciate all the work you have done under that agreement and your efforts to renew our pact this fall.
Greece and the United States enjoy a very close partnership – nowhere is this more evident than on law enforcement issues. From investigating human-trafficking to combating cybercrime; from halting money laundering to dismantling organized crime, Greeks and Americans are more than allies and friends: we are full partners in the fight against crime. This workshop is yet another opportunity for Greece and the U.S. to redouble our efforts to prevent the trafficking of looted and stolen cultural objects. We applaud Greece’s hard work to protect its rich heritage from pillage and know that Greece takes enormous pride in its cultural patrimony.
Trading stolen historical and cultural artifacts is one of the oldest forms of cross-border organized crime. INTERPOL, the International Criminal Police Organization, estimates that illicit trading of cultural property produces more than $9 billion in profits each year – only human trafficking, narcotics, and the weapons trade generate more illicit revenue.
This crime may be ancient, but the perpetrators’ methods are very modern. These criminals use the Internet to acquire, transport, advertise, and sell valuable cultural property swiftly and easily while evading detection by law enforcement agencies. We must continue to work together, using all of our available resources, to locate and stop these criminals.
Fortunately, the customs laws of the United States give agencies like Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) the ability to seize, forfeit, and return cultural property which has been illegally brought to the United States. Our efforts to bring antiquities back to Greece have been strengthened by the Memorandum of Understanding between our two countries, which restricts the import of Greek archeological materials from all areas of Greece.
I commend the work of the Hellenic Ministry of Culture and U.S. Department of State’s Cultural Heritage Center to create and build upon that framework. It has been an invaluable tool to combat illicit trafficking of Greek cultural patrimony. This agreement also encourages the legal exhibition and study of Greek cultural heritage so that Americans can learn more about Greece’s fascinating history by seeing these important heritage items first hand.
Still, there is more work to be done to protect the precious cultural resources of Greece.
Κυρίες και κύριοι,
Τις επόμενες δύο ημέρες θα έχουμε την ευκαιρία να ανταλλάξουμε απόψεις επάνω σ’ αυτο το πολύ σημαντικό ζήτημα, ώστε να βελτιώσουμε τις ικανότητές μας και να προστατεύσουμε την αρχαία ελληνική κληρονομιά από αυτήν την διεθνή μάστιγα της παράνομης διακίνησης και κλοπής αρχαιοτήτων.
Σας εύχομαι καλή επιτυχία στις προσπάθειές σας και καλή συνέχεια!
Σας ευχαριστώ θερμά!
