ABSTRACT
In November 1997, at a large meeting called by the new Ministry of Culture and Tourism to define a better cultural policy, one participant evoked the economic situation of Mali, which he described as a poor Sahelian country plagued with poor education, chronic rural poverty, diseases and recurring droughts accompanied by famine. He lamented that Mali has no oil, no uranium and no diamonds, and that the country, because of its lack of substantial financial resources and advanced technology, has now to share what small amount of gold it possesses with South African, American, European and Australian companies. ‘The only resource we really own is our rich cultural heritage’, he said. The participant, who works for a travel agency in Bamako, was apparently not aware of the massive pillaging of Malian antiquities. His remark (an appropriate reference to the multinational companies which are accustomed to helping themselves to the raw materials of developing nations) is applicable as well to the valuable resources of antiquities in many other African nations which have become the target of international smuggling syndicates. In view of this disturbing fact, it is the intention of this chapter to examine some key issues, in particular the importance of cultural heritage and the efforts made thus far by the Malian government to discourage looting and the illicit trade in antiquities.
