What was focused on, in particular, was the first statement by Koutsoumba, where she said the monuments were in danger of "falling down."
Following that, Koutsoumba asked for a clarification, saying that the phrase was misinterpreted in Greece.
"At this point, we need to stress that beyond the misinterpretation of the particular phrase, the USA Today article gives an accurate [portrayal] of the real everyday problems faced by the Ephorates of Antiquities [regional branches of the ministry] and museums all over Greece:
the archaeological services are struggling against the budget cuts and the serious lack of personnel," said a statement by the Board of the Association of Greek Archeologists. "All Greek archaeologists, together with the other employees of the cultural sector, are fighting – against all
odds – for the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage."
While focusing on that phrase, the critical articles in Greek newspapers failed to mention a fact confirmed by multiple Greek archeologists: The usual restoration and preservation work of Greek monuments hasn't been done this year due to 50% cuts in the Ministry of Culture's budget
as part of austerity measures being implemented in Greece. They also refrained from writing about the 25% increase in unauthorized excavations of artifacts
Archeologists say the situation is dire.
"We are responsible for delivering intact to the next generation the monuments and the objects we inherited from our ancestors," said Kostas Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist and researcher, at the University of Cambridge in the UK. "I very much worry that both in the
short and in the long term, the security and conservation [of our antiquities] will be very much affected, with catastrophic consequences, as we have already begun to experience after the [looting] incidents at the National Gallery in Athens and the old museum in Olympia."
Some say the uproar is over the Ministry of Culture's embarrassment of the situation. Rigou says that she believes the Greek media' reaction is due to them being too close to the government.
"Beat reporters in Greece and elsewhere have the psychology of embedded journalists: they can't see things clearly," said Rigou. "The only time they oppose the ministry's line is when the media
owner's interests are directly opposed to the ministry's policies or when the public opinion is already against ministry's actions."
This wasn't the first time that the Association of Archeologists has been the target of criticism recently. The association released a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wly0GUZ_QZQ
appealing to the international community to save Greek antiquities.
The video was inspired by the robbery in at the Archeological Museum of Ancient Olympia, and showed a scenario of looting at the National Archeological Museum in Athens, aiming to alert Greek and international audiences of the dangers antiquities face from the huge budget cuts.
Critical articles appeared in local media accusing the association of a deliberate campaign against austerity measures. Also, the Central Archaeological Council, part of the Ministry of Culture, decided to ban the video from being broadcast on Greek television because "it would
create fear and prevent members of the public from visiting museums."
When we wrote the article, we knew that many in Greece continue to blindly support the Troika's line. But, we didn't expect that from those who cover society and culture, and especially our archeological heritage -- especially when the impact on it is already obvious.
Following that, Koutsoumba asked for a clarification, saying that the phrase was misinterpreted in Greece.
"At this point, we need to stress that beyond the misinterpretation of the particular phrase, the USA Today article gives an accurate [portrayal] of the real everyday problems faced by the Ephorates of Antiquities [regional branches of the ministry] and museums all over Greece:
the archaeological services are struggling against the budget cuts and the serious lack of personnel," said a statement by the Board of the Association of Greek Archeologists. "All Greek archaeologists, together with the other employees of the cultural sector, are fighting – against all
odds – for the protection and safeguarding of cultural heritage."
While focusing on that phrase, the critical articles in Greek newspapers failed to mention a fact confirmed by multiple Greek archeologists: The usual restoration and preservation work of Greek monuments hasn't been done this year due to 50% cuts in the Ministry of Culture's budget
as part of austerity measures being implemented in Greece. They also refrained from writing about the 25% increase in unauthorized excavations of artifacts
Archeologists say the situation is dire.
"We are responsible for delivering intact to the next generation the monuments and the objects we inherited from our ancestors," said Kostas Tsirogiannis, a forensic archaeologist and researcher, at the University of Cambridge in the UK. "I very much worry that both in the
short and in the long term, the security and conservation [of our antiquities] will be very much affected, with catastrophic consequences, as we have already begun to experience after the [looting] incidents at the National Gallery in Athens and the old museum in Olympia."
Some say the uproar is over the Ministry of Culture's embarrassment of the situation. Rigou says that she believes the Greek media' reaction is due to them being too close to the government.
"Beat reporters in Greece and elsewhere have the psychology of embedded journalists: they can't see things clearly," said Rigou. "The only time they oppose the ministry's line is when the media
owner's interests are directly opposed to the ministry's policies or when the public opinion is already against ministry's actions."
This wasn't the first time that the Association of Archeologists has been the target of criticism recently. The association released a video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wly0GUZ_QZQ
appealing to the international community to save Greek antiquities.
The video was inspired by the robbery in at the Archeological Museum of Ancient Olympia, and showed a scenario of looting at the National Archeological Museum in Athens, aiming to alert Greek and international audiences of the dangers antiquities face from the huge budget cuts.
Critical articles appeared in local media accusing the association of a deliberate campaign against austerity measures. Also, the Central Archaeological Council, part of the Ministry of Culture, decided to ban the video from being broadcast on Greek television because "it would
create fear and prevent members of the public from visiting museums."
When we wrote the article, we knew that many in Greece continue to blindly support the Troika's line. But, we didn't expect that from those who cover society and culture, and especially our archeological heritage -- especially when the impact on it is already obvious.
