The Cultural Cradle of Humanity’s Deliberate Destruction
Protest against war crimes against Iraqi people and culture
By Urs Knoblauch, Switzerland
In various media there was justified criticism of the US war
coalition in connection with the war in Iraq and the unbelievable and
immense looting and destruction of the country’s collection of antique
treasures, humanity’s oldest cultural treasures in the National Museum,
the Iraq Museum, in the libraries and the university collections. The
fact that America and its allies allowed such criminal acts of
vandalism to take place was condemned as a violation of international
law. According to international law they were duty bound to protect
those sites during the war. With painstakingly loving care and
enchanting skilfulness these ancient treasures, numbering over 150,000,
were created by thousands of artists and craftsmen, and they had been
preserved for posterity. UNESCO experts had repeatedly pointed out to
Bush’s war administration that it was their duty to protect these
unique remains of the Mesopotamian civilisation from destruction and
vandalism. Quite rightly the warring Bush administration and its allies
were reminded that it was their duty according to international law,
especially in times of war, to guard and protect museums and cultural
treasures as well as humanitarian facilities with their troops. This
did not happen, against better judgement.
Exemplary human and cultural duty
Martin Sullivan, the chairman of White House Cultural Property
Advisory Committee, and another committee member resigned in protest
over the looting of Baghdad’s museum of antiquities. They accuse Bush
by stating, ‘due to the passivity of our nation this tragedy could not
be prevented.’ According to them, President Bush and the military were
well aware that as a warring nation they had violated their urgent
moral protective duties. Together with the two cultural advisers,
innumerable museum and art experts, archaeologists and persons in
charge of cultural facilities in America and throughout the world, as
well as UNESCO, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the
Red Crescent Society have sharply protested against these violations of
international law. This is also a sign of the growing peace movement, a
glimmer of hope and expression of human culture and justice in the
dangerous times we are living in at present.
Serious violation of humanitarian international law
Beginning the war in Iraq the US war administration, England and the
other allies violated the principle that in principle it is forbidden
to wage war, and they violated regulations of the UN and all valid
foundations of international law. This view is clearly endorsed by
international law experts as well as the majority of people in the
world. Current peace demonstrations have focussed on the violations of
the international law and war crimes. In the name of all civilians and
members of the military who were killed or were injured in this and the
previous Iraq war, the war coalition must be made accountable.
Humanitarian international law: the last protection in war
During their training soldiers are instructed, and whenever possible
by members of the International Red Cross and the Red Crescent, in the
basics of current humanitarian international law. They learn, among
other things, that also during war minimal human legal norms must be
observed. First and foremost, the civilian population must be protected,
as well as vital infrastructure, such as hospitals, Red Cross
installations, schools, museums and cultural treasures. This minimal
education in humanitarian international law during acts of war can also
be expected among senior military staff. The fact that the Americans
immediately guarded the oil ministry in Baghdad with tanks comes as no
surprise. But the fact that hospitals, which were unguarded, full of
thousands of badly injured children, men and women, were destroyed and
plundered, and that injured people had to leave the hospitals in fear
of the brutal plunderers and that the driver of a Red Cross vehicle was
shot, is a particularly grave war crime.
For this reason, humanitarian help and the distribution of aid
supplies should not be carried out by members of the military, the
warring parties or armies, but only by the civilian, neutral and
trustworthy organisations of the Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
Particular responsibility must be accorded Switzerland with its
admirable humanitarian foreign and peace politics. Humanitarian aid is
a human obligation that is imperative. Henri Dunant’s call from the
battlefield of Solferino ‘Tutti fratelli’, we are all brothers and
sisters, is the underlying principle of humanitarian international law
and the only hope when we are confronted with the insanity of war.
Attack on the cultural cradle and identity of humanity
If the British at the end of World War II spared Cologne Cathedral
for reasons of respect for culture, the protection of Baghdad’s museums
were surely a small matter for the British and Americans with their
high-tech army and total superiority - if they really wanted to! Nobody
would have believed it humanly possible for the unique treasures of the
cultural cradle of humanity to be consciously exposed to theft and
vandalism. No other museum in the world owned such a unique collection
of Mesopotamian art. Here in the cradle of humanity, in the region
between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, lie our cultural roots. It was
here that script was invented, here that the first towns were built,
here that the world famous sculptures and gold treasures in Uruk, Ur or
Nimrud originated. But it is also traditions that have been destroyed,
and the history and cultural roots of a people, of a region. This loss
of cultural objects is equivalent to an attack on our cultural,
historical and human identity. The television pictures of the weeping
and despondent members of the archaeological museum at the sight of the
vandalism were heart wrenching. But, together with the pictures of
children injured through bombs in the hands of their parents, they can
also act as a warning to us all against war.
Discovery of and stopping dangerous war manipulation
It is worrying that in current media reports about this cultural
destruction the harm caused is increasingly played down, and instead
inappropriate ‘infotainment information’ with unimportant assumptions
and details about the looting is placed in the centre of attention.
Clear accusation and responsibility of the war alliance for these
crimes of war are missing. The army of ‘Spin-doctors’, secret services
and media manipulators with their array of deception, language
manipulation, smoke screens and chaos strategies intervened in the
fight in order to weaken the overwhelming will of the population for
peace? Should the costs of war and irreplaceable human and cultural
losses now be borne by the non-war participants so that the war
machinery can home in on its next target? Is a new world order, a new
empire being set up? Citizens must never allow this to happen!
Urgent Petition of International Scholars of Mesopotamia and
the Near East to the United Nations and UNESCO for the Safeguarding of
Iraqi Cultural Heritage
‘Mesopotamia’ designates the land where human beings first
built cities, organized complex states, formulated elaborate religious
beliefs, invented writing, developed sophisticated visual and literary
expression, articulated measures for maintaining law and justice. The
list of humankind’s momentous “Firsts from Mesopotamia” is too long to
detail. Mesopotamian religious, literary, and artistic traditions
represent the origins of advanced culture, and their value to world
civilization is inestimable. Understanding of Mesopotamia illuminates
fundamental aspects of Judeo-Christian tradition and of Islam, and
Mesopotamia has ties as well to ancient Greece--chapters of human
history that gave shape to the world we inhabit today.
The geographical realm of ancient Mesopotamia extends into the
modern states of Syria, Iran, and Jordan, but for the greatest part
lies within Iraq. As scholars committed to the study and teaching of
the history and culture of Mesopotamia, many of whom have been guests
of the Iraqi people, we have deep ties to persons in Iraq as well as a
profound appreciation for the cultural resources preserved within its
borders. The only access that our and future generations have to ancient
Mesopotamia is through the ancient physical remains left behind. Each
artifact, written text, and archaeological context is unique and
irreplaceable. Once destroyed, that link to humanity’s past is lost, to
us and to our descendants, forever.
Students of a civilization reaching back more than 5,000
years, we are accustomed to taking a long-term view of history and
historical events. The present military conflict in Iraq will come to
an end. We hope it will end as quickly and with as little loss of life
as possible, and with a minimum of damage to excavated and unexcavated
ancient sites as well as museum collections. Destruction of Iraqi
cultural heritage will result in devastating and irrecoverable losses to
human civilization, and to participate in or allow such destruction may
inflame resentment and anger throughout the world, particularly in the
Middle East. We believe, as is also recognized by the people and
government of Iraq, that the ancient cultural heritage of the Iraqi
people is at least as vital to their future as oil reserves are to
their country’s economic survival. Rigorous efforts by US and allied
military forces and whatever body oversees post-war Iraq to protect
ancient sites and artifacts can only enhance future goodwill. We
believe that education can be a powerful tool, that cooperation among
scholars and educators can serve as a vital bridge between Iraqi and
Western people once the current conflict is over, and that steps must
be taken now to protect the cultural heritage of Iraq before it is too
late.
We, the undersigned members of the scholarly community devoted
to the study and teaching of ancient Mesopotamia and Pre-Modern Iraq,
urge the United Nations and UNESCO to forward the following
recommendations to US-Allied military command:
1. That rigorous care be taken not to target archaeological
sites directly or allow collateral damage to be inflicted on them.
2. That rigorous care be taken not to target museums,
universities, academic libraries, or other buildings housing resources
for the study of Iraq’s ancient and more recent past. In addition, it
has been publicized that our Iraqi colleagues have put themselves at
risk in order personally to try to protect these collections. Utmost
care should be taken that they come to no harm; Iraq, and the rest of
the world, needs these devoted scholars and other personnel for the
future.
3. That in the event a site or museum has been damaged,
immediate efforts be made to control fires and otherwise consolidate
compromised structures. Security details should be mounted immediately
to protect the damaged site from looting.
4. That international military, humanitarian, and other
personnel posted to Iraq be instructed as to the ethical and legal
consequences of removing antiquities from the country. As soon as
possible, certainly no later than immediately after the close of the
military conflict, security personnel should be trained in the
identification of antiquities and stationed in order to halt further
removal of cultural heritage materials from Iraq.
Further, we urge the UN and UNESCO to ensure that whatever
body oversees post-war Iraq implements the following recommendations
immediately after the close of the conflict:
5. That security personnel be posted throughout Iraq at its
many archaeological sites and museum storage facilities as soon as
possible to halt future thefts. In the aftermath of the previous Gulf
War, Iraqi archaeological sites and museum collections suffered from
extensive looting, the fruits of which continue to disappear into the
international black market for illegally procured antiquities
6. That our Iraqi colleagues be continued in or restored to
their positions in museums, archaeological projects, and universities.
7. That the Iraqi Antiquities Authority be offered the
assistance of specialists from around the world to work with them (a)
to begin restoration and preservation of antiquities that have been
damaged or compromised in consequence of the current conflict and from
the past 12 years of looting, and (b) to aid in training the next
generation of Iraqi scholars to continue this vital work.
8. That whatever body oversees post-war Iraq be ready to offer
material assistance to the Iraqi authorities and any concerned
international agency prepared to apprehend and prosecute persons
responsible for the theft and purchase of Iraqi cultural heritage
materials, and to strive for the recovery of those materials and their
restoration to the Iraqi people.
This petition was delivered to the
United Nations and UNESCO on 14 April 2003, on behalf of International
Scholars of Mesopotamia and the Near East urging measures for the
safeguarding of Iraqi cultural heritage now and after the conclusion of
the war. Since then, scholars in many other fields have expressed their
concern and their wish to sign the petition. We are delighted to
receive support from the wider academic community. Please read the
document. If you would like to add your name to the list of
signatories, send a message with your name, field of study,
institutional affiliation, and country to mesop2003@yahoo.com.
The signatories as of Friday 25
April 2003 -- now well over a thousand -- are listed in the internet:
users.ox.ac.uk/wolf0126/petition.html
Kathryn E. Slanski Department of
Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations
Yale University
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