November 17, 2004
Ethiopia expects ... again
Italy has, once again, raised hopes that it is about to return the obelisk that it stole from Ethiopia in 1937. This has happened many times before. The last time Italy made a promise, Ethiopia issued a special set of stamps to celebrate the return. Then...nothing happened.
This time it could be for real though. I heard an Ethiopian engineer spent most of last week in Rome to work out the final technical details. If all goes to plan, the obelisk will be loaded on to an Antonov aircraft before Christmas.
No one is holding their breath though - least of all veteran campaigner Richard Pankhurst who, as ever, came up with a great quote at the end of the Reuters article below.
Italy Prepares to Return Prized Ethiopian ObeliskROME (Reuters) - Italy finally looks set to heal a feud with Ethiopia by returning one of its most cherished relics, the obelisk of Axum, taken by fascist invaders almost 70 years ago.
Final details of a plan to transport the 200-tongranite column from Rome to the holy city of Axum are expected to be discussed when Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi meets Italian officials on Thursday and Friday.
The 24-meter obelisk, believed to be at least 2,000 years old, was split into three and hauled off when fascist Italy invaded Ethiopia in 1937...
After the fall of the dictator Benito Mussolini and his nascent Italian "empire," Rome signed an accord in 1947 agreeing to return stolen relics and art works to Ethiopia.
Another accord was signed in 1956 and another in 1997, but the obelisk with its geometric designs remained in Rome, in front of what had been the Ministry of Italian Africa...
"Until the obelisk is returned to Ethiopia, Mussolini will be laughing at us from his grave," said Richard Pankhurst, a British historian living in Addis Ababa who has led the demands for the return of Ethiopian treasures.
Posted by aheavens at November 17, 2004 7:34 AM