The Devotion of the Association of Dealers and Collectors of Ancient and Ethnographic Art to Dodging the Issues

Three comments on the ADCAEA Facebook page, posted 25th October 2014...
Three comments on the ADCAEA Facebook page ignored for a week, no answers,
Three comments on the ADCAEA Facebook page, Deleted (presumably by ADCAEA) by 7th November.

It seems that all that guff about the ADCAEA being about intending to be a forum for discussing responsible collection and representing responsible collectors and dealers is once again shown to be the usual sort of farce we can expect from US (and other) dealers in dugup antiquities. They are all too apparently not a bit interested either in any kind of proper discussion, nor (see comment 3) any kind of responsible acquisition

1) This one was under the post of 9 października o 23:33 called "Protecting Syria's Heritage - Room for Debate" from the NYTimes, with the leader "What is the most effective way to stop looting and preserve the ancient heritage of Syria?". A perfectly reasonable question, having seen the apallingly superficial first draft and taken the trouble to send comments is what I asked. />

How's the promised revision of the draft guidelines for due diligence coming along? On schedule for a launch next month?

There was no reply. The launch of the revised version was supposed to be "the end of October", it's now a week into November and nothing has appeared, but my question about it was deleted. Telling.

2) This one was under the post of 22 października 2014  o 16:12 referring to the article in "Foreign Affairs" of James Cuno ("Why It’s Wrong to Repatriate Museum Artifacts" and my comment followed Sue McGovern-Huffman's own comment: "Perhaps one of the best articles I have read in a very long time, well worthwhile reading". I added: 

Paul Barford You (ADCAEE) seem pretty isolated in your assessment of the merits of these one-sided and atavistic arguments.

No attempt was made to defend the superlative.

3) This one was under the post  of  23 października 2014 0 20:30 reposting: "Looting Matters: US Government Pays $425,000 for Legal Case" (about the Ka Nefer Nefer mask fiasco), and my comment followed Ms McGovern-Huffman's " Nice to see a precedent being set......" (sic):

Paul Barford Why is this "nice"? Will the Aboutaam brothers just up the road from you be invited to join your Association as dealer members now?

I assume the invitation has already been sent to celebrate this "niceness".

Once again, we see dealers doing their level best to alienate themselves from the wider heritage debate, trying desperately to avoid addressing any issues at all, pretending they do not see them, therefore they do not exist. Their strategy however is going nowhere and they are simply marginalising themselves more and more in a world that is changing around them.