The Egyptian government officially responds to Alaa Mubarak’s letter, ending a popular debate

The Egyptian government responded to the circulation of some social media posts claiming the government’s implementation of a comprehensive campaign to demolish ancient tombs, which sparked a popular controversy.

The media center of the Egyptian Council of Ministers contacted the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, which denied these reports, stressing that there is no truth to the government’s implementation of a comprehensive campaign to demolish archaeological tombs, stressing that all archaeological tombs exist as they are, and cannot be touched, as they are subject to Antiquities Protection Law No. 117 of 1983, which criminalizes any act that damages or destroys an antiquity, affirming the state’s keenness to preserve antiquities of all kinds and forms, not only for future generations but for all of humanity.

Alaa Mubarak, the son of the late Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, had expressed his refusal to remove the historical tombs, and sent a message to the government, stressing that these tombs are historical and considered heritage and contain architectural artifacts.

Alaa Mubarak wrote a tweet about the demolition of historical cemeteries, in which he said: “The government intends to compensate the owners of the cemeteries that are being demolished with alternative ones in other areas! Priceless ancient dating back hundreds of years.

In his letter addressed to the government, Alaa Mubarak said about the reason for his refusal to demolish the historical cemeteries: “The issue is not a matter of compensation, and no one is against development, on the contrary, but development should not come at the expense of removing remains and corpses, especially since some of these cemeteries are located in areas that have a historical character and contain rare architectural arts.” It has spiritual and symbolic values.