> So its ok if local thieves and looters take the treasures with no thought of their preservation or provenance?

No. But two wrongs don't make a right.

> a methodical effort of record-keeping and analysis is wrong, simply because of the thieves nationality?

When the thieves illegally steal a nation's artifacts and illegally sell them to a private buyer? Yes.

> One is 'better' than the other, only from a comfortable armchair far from the turmoil.

... he said, from a comfortable armchair far from the turmoil.