The Syrian Future Movement welcomes the announcement by the Ministry of Culture in the interim government on Wednesday, December 3, 2025, of the return of 1,234 archaeological tablets and 198 diverse artifacts to the Idlib National Museum. These pieces represent the civilizations of Mari, Ebla, and Ugarit, extending to the Islamic era, and had been lost or looted during the years of conflict.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that the recovery of any part of our national heritage represents a glimmer of hope for restoring the dignity of the Syrian people and their cultural identity. We commend the efforts exerted by the field teams and relevant authorities to accomplish this process.
We in the Syrian Future Movement emphasize that this step, however important, remains limited in its impact unless it is integrated within a comprehensive national and institutional vision that transcends immediate achievement and celebratory rhetoric. Therefore, we draw attention to the following points:
- The lack of complete transparency regarding the origins of these pieces, how they were recovered, and the entities that held them raises suspicions, given the long history of organized looting and smuggling across borders.
- The necessity of establishing an independent national committee to document looted Syrian antiquities, comprising Syrian and international specialists, directly linked to the Presidency of the Transitional Government, and publishing its reports periodically to the Syrian people.
- Reconsidering the management of museums and archaeological sites under a unified national heritage law that guarantees responsible administrative decentralization and prevents any political or military entity from monopolizing cultural decision-making.
- Allocating a clear and independent budget for heritage protection within the transitional national budget, independent of ad hoc funding or reliance on unreliable donations.
- Launching a national program to train a new generation of Syrian archaeologists and restorers, both within the country and abroad, because heritage can only be protected by competent and independent national personnel.
The Syrian Future Movement believes that Syrian heritage does not belong to successive governments, but is a trust placed upon every Syrian. Any attempt to exploit it politically or transform it into a propaganda tool, instead of building institutions that genuinely protect it, only prolongs the suffering of this heritage and exposes it to new dangers.
We reiterate the readiness of the Syrian Future Movement to cooperate with all honorable national parties to develop a long-term national strategy that protects our antiquities and restores their status as a bridge between our glorious past and our future, which we want to be free, just, and prosperous.
