Return of Axum Obelisk Postponed
The Daily Monitor (Addis Ababa)
April 12, 2005
Posted to the web April 12, 2005
Our Staff Reporter
Addis Ababa
Decision receives negative reviews
In a surprising twist of decision, the long awaited return of the Axum obelisk to its home land has been postponed indefinitely, according to sources from the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports.
The delay is said to be caused due to congestion of traffic forcing the plane from making its scheduled flight to Axum airport.
The weekly Amharic newspaper Addis Admas had reported that the delay was caused because the Italian government did not like the way the Ethiopian government was making a big deal out of the return.
It said that the Italian government believed that all this hype was unnecessary.
A few foreign correspondents that arrived in Ethiopia to cover the story were also reported to have been disgruntled by the delay. Tourists who are here for the event are also disappointed by the postponement.
"This is a decision that would make no one happy. We have waited all these years to have our identity back. But now they are coming up with every small reason not to do so. That is a shame," one elder citizen had said to The Daily Monitor.
"It took the Italian government 70 years of deliberate procrastination to return what is rightfully ours and now they are delaying the return under the pretence that they do not like the celebrations surrounding the return; I am very disappointed," another senior citizen said.
A law student at the Addis Ababa University said that this was not a very smart move by the Italian government. "This is not a smart play. The best thing to do is to just bring the obelisk back home without any further ado," he added.
It is also believed that the delay of the arrival of the first piece of the obelisk will also hamper the arrival dates of the remaining two pieces, thereby also pushing the date of the re-erecting and unveiling to an unspecified date.
Always the same excuses excuses excuses who the frenchconnectionuk do the italians think they are taking the obelisk and waving it like a toy to be played with in the face of the Ethiopians.
Murse by Kadir Nelson
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05-04-05, 09:53 PM
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