2023-12-13 16:33:07
The same day that Ernest Urtasun received his Colombian counterpart Juan David Correa at the Ministry of Culture to “reinforce cultural ties”, without, apparently, according to Culture sources, the Quimbaya Treasure or the San galleon being mentioned in their conversation. José, around twenty experts in heritage and archeology warned in an open letter to the Minister of Cultures of Colombia about the short and long-term repercussions of “removing” the remains of the shipwreck with urgency and haste.
«The decisions that are made now in relation to the Galeón San José case will have repercussions beyond about archaeological heritage in general and about long-term cultural processes,” point out academics from various universities in Colombia, as well as Rodrigo Pacheco, from the National Museum of Royal Navy, and Ana Crespo, from the Higher Council for Scientific Research (CSIC).
“Will these decisions be added to the long history of intentions to plunder the contents of the archaeological heritage in water and on land, as well as the interests of reopening the door to those who have valued said heritage as a commodity and business object?” they ask with fear.
In recent statements by Correa in different media, “especially foreign ones,” these critical voices observe “several issues that are at least worrying«, like the purpose of Gustavo Petro’s government to »promptly advance« in the extraction of the wreck, as if it were »a mandatory mandate«.
“The imperative to ‘remove’ the remains of the galleon” expresses well, in his opinion, a “lack of scientific rigor” and “such a course ignores or disregards from the outset the warnings issued by expert voices who for at least 13 years have recommended considering, first of all, actions of in situ preservation, before exploring any extraction alternative”, following the recommendations of the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage. »It is not an impediment that Colombia is not a member of the Convention so that they are taken into account«, they maintain.
Furthermore, they warn that Colombia does not have a conservation laboratory ideal to properly treat and preserve what is eventually extracted from the Spanish ship that shipwrecked in the 18th century in the Caribbean, off Cartagena de Indias.
The academics, who have already demanded on other occasions the withdrawal of the figure of a public-private alliance to extract the goods from the wreck, reiterate the negative consequences of reviving a process such as the one signed by the government of Juan Manuel Santos with the treasure hunters of Maritime Archeology Consultant, suspended during the government of former President Iván Duque.
«It can put economic schemes typical of private businesses» before the treatment of cultural goods, «It ignores national capacities in terms of research, protection, conservation and management of heritage.“and” deepens the risks of lawsuits in progress or to come, advanced by treasure-hunting companies that base their financial speculations on the ‘treasure’ of the San José Galleon,” they warn.
Any intervention at the site requires an Archaeological Management Plan, these “critical voices” also remember that, when faced with Correa’s announcement to organize an event in Cartagena in January to listen to his proposals, they are distrustful. So far, they say, “a dynamic of dialogue has not been generated” and they fear that it will remain in “a diplomatic gesture«that only serves the purpose of »validating government decisions already established in advance«.
Correa’s interviews, first in international media and only later in Colombian media, are “symptomatic”, in his opinion, of the attitude that the executive has maintained of making decisions about the galleon “behind closed doors, with the help of international actors.” » and, under the argument that it is a ‘state secret’, without informing the country ‘sufficiently.’
«This attitude, added to the purpose of reviving the figure of the public-private alliance, suggests that there is no trust in national capabilities in terms of science and technology applicable to the protection and management of submerged cultural heritage, placing the extraction of the assets that comprise it in the hands of private initiatives with an essentially economic interest,” insist the academics who put their capabilities at the disposal of the Colombian Government. and his willingness to »authentically listen« to investigate and protect the San José galleon.
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