How Egypt "plans to crack down on antiquities theft"

 Al-monitor " How Egypt plans to crack down on antiquities theft

On May 3, Egypt's Cabinet approved amendments to the country’s antiquities law. The changes were highly praised by decision-makers and archaeologists in a country that has been suffering a rise in antiquities thefts and illegal digging for artifacts following the 2011 revolution. The amendments include raising the maximum sentence from seven years to life imprisonment for the illegal trade in, possession of and digging of antiquities. An addition to the law also imposes fines for harassing tourists at archaeological sites; such fines range from 3,000 to 10,000 Egyptian pounds ($165 to $550). [...] Member of parliament Evelyn Matta praised the new amendments, especially the new penalty for harassing tourists; many people strongly pressure tourists to buy merchandise. She told local media that [...] "These amendments will help tourism flourish and make the world look at us and see us as more civilized, seeing that we respect everyone who comes to see our archaeological monuments".

It seems that the local populace has been excluded from their heritage by laws making them the property of the elitist state hierachy:

Mohamed Khalil, a director at the Antiquities Ministry [...]  told Al-Monitor that the Antiquities Ministry is also working hard to raise people's awareness about their country's invaluable antiquities. "After the revolution, the ministry organized tours for Egyptians for them to see their ancestors' antiquities. To our surprise, many Egyptians have no idea about dozens of archaeological places here," Khalil said."In most of our tours, passersby and shop owners, when they see us walking in groups, think we are demonstrating," he said. However, Khalil went on to say that when people are informed that the group is going to visit a historic place nearby, some of them join in, while others are surprised that such a place exists in their area and is open to the public. Thus, Khalil believes that it is good to stiffen the penalties but also to raise people's awareness — especially of those trying to sell goods to tourists — about the importance of Egypt's monuments so that they will be preserved. He said he thinks that illegal trade and digging cases will diminish.