"False claims" made over CAARI

Washington lobbyist Peter Tompa has responded to a recent PR Newswire Release, "Do Coin Collectors Care About the Archaeology of Cyprus", by commenting that the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute (CAARI) "was involved in behind-the-scenes lobbying on behalf of the Cypriot Department of Antiquities, the Cypriot government body that issues excavation permits that allow CAARI affiliated archaeologists to excavate on the Island".

CAARI also features in a test case submitted by Jason H. Ehrenberg, Tompa's legal colleague from Bailey & Ehrenberg PLLC; Tompa's name is attached to the legal papers.

Ellen Herscher (Vice President, CAARI) has responded to Tompa on the "Museum Security Network" (February 21, 2010). She writes:

Once again the ACCG has made false claims about the role of the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute in the U.S. government's decision to enter into a bilateral agreement with Cyprus.

CAARI's Director and several trustees publicly submitted statements in support of the agreement. This position is in accordance with CAARI's Code of Ethics, which states that the organization "is dedicated to the protection and preservation of archaeological sites in Cyprus and the information they contain." There was no "behind-the-scenes lobbying" involved.

Secondly, "CAARI-affiliation" has nothing to do with the granting of excavation permits in Cyprus. Permits are the sole responsibility of the Department of Antiquities of the Republic of Cyprus.

It is unfortunate that the ACCG continues to publish these erroneous statements, despite the fact that CAARI has responded and refuted them in the past.

Co-ordinated attacks by officers of the ACCG on CAARI were noted in 2008.

Are "false claims" being deliberately planted by some of the North American coin-collecting community as part of the background to the test case over the coins seized at Baltimore?