ACCG's Tompa: Due Diligence "Objectionable"

Collectors say that they want to help preserve the past. Collectors say they deplore looting and would "never" knowingly buy a stolen or looted object. Dealer say the same things.  There is however a huge gap  between insincere declarative posturing and action. ACCG's Peter Tompa (lobbyist for numismatic trade associations) discusses the "Red List of Syrian Cultural Objects at Risk" (noting sourly that it was produced "with the support of the State Department's Cultural Heritage Center"). He takes exception to this bit of the all-too-brief document:

"Museums, auction houses, art dealers and collectors are encouraged not to acquire such objects [ie originating from Syria] without having carefully and thoroughly researched their origin and all the relevant legal documentation."

Mr Tompa labels this "objectionable" and says it "makes little sense" in today's antiquity market ("the objects on the list are presumed "guilty" until proven "innocent"..." and it breaks their little hearts).  

Mr Tompa calls my opinions "surreal", but I say  "Museums, auction houses, art dealers and collectors should be encouraged not to acquire ANY dugup ancient objects without having carefully and thoroughly researched their origin and all the relevant legal documentation". What is actually surreal about that? It's what we call due diligence, and its what all collectors and dealers (declaratively) claim indignantly they are all already doing.