Linda,

Well stated.

Thank you.

Michael A. Tomlan
Assoc. Professor and Director,
Graduate Program in Historic Preservation Planning
Cornell University
& Project Director,
National Council for Preservation Education


At 12:24 PM 4/16/03 +1000, Linda Young wrote:
>Dear colleagues
>
>It sems clear that international organised art crime orchestrated the
>shameful looting of the Iraqi National Museum. Doubtless, such criminals
>foresaw chaos in Baghdad and arranged schemes to take advantage of insecure
>museums, should the moment arise. They must be identified and punished as
>war criminals.
>
>But I suggest that we should all contemplate the desperate circumstances of
>ordinary people who may have participated in the pillage: living in a
>society outside the rule of law, in a city no longer served by basic
>amenities such as electricity and water, fearful of the future. In such
>dire circumstances, would many of us have resisted the opportunity to grab
>some potential security for our families?
>
>The larger population that merits our professional rage and condemnation is
>the international (effectively Western) 'art market'.  Societies that laud
>the possession of unique artefacts as evidence of individual wealth and
>taste thereby create the demand for stolen cultural material. The European
>and American 'art market' is the monster that drives a myriad of illegal
>actions, from systematic  archaeological looting to the opportunistic
>pillage of the Baghdad Museum.
>
>The challenge is to convert the culture of private ownership to communal
>cultural pride. As the UNESCO Convention (1970) proclaims: 'cultural
>property constitutes one of the basic elements of civilisation and national
>culture', which 'enriches the cultural life of all peoples''damage to
>cultural property belonging to any people whatsoever means damage to the
>cultural heritage of all mankind'.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> >ICOM President Jacques Perot urges all ICOM Committees and Affiliated
> >Organisations to disseminate as widely as possible the following UNESCO
> >press release.
> >
> >
> >Communiqué
> >Office of the Spokeswoman/ La Porte Parole
> >Contact: [log in to unmask]
> >Telephone: 00 33 (1) 45 68 13 26
> >Fax: 00 33 (1) 45 68 55 66
> >
> >
> >UNESCO, 13 April 2003
> >
> >The Director-General of UNESCO calls for all measures to be taken to ensure
> >the protection and surveillance of Iraqi cultural heritage and effectively
> >fight against illicit trafficking
> >
> >Following the acts of looting committed yesterday in the National
> >Archaeological Museum of Baghdad, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura
> >has contacted the American and British authorities and asked them to take
> >immediate measures of protection and surveillance of Iraqi archaeological
> >sites and cultural institutions. In a letter of 11 April 2003 addressed to
> >the American authorities, the Director-General emphasized the urgent need to
> >preserve collections and a heritage considered to be one of the richest in
> >the world. He particularly insisted on the necessity of assuring military
> >protection for the Archaeological Museum of Baghdad and the Mosul Museum.
> >The same request was formulated to the British authorities concerning in
> >particular the Basra region.
> >
> >In order to prevent the illicit export of Iraqi cultural goods, the
> >Director-General also undertook contacts with the authorities of the
> >countries bordering Iraq and international police and customs officials to
> >ensure respect of the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and
> >Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural
> >Property. He again requested INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization, the
> >International Confederation of Art and Antiquities Dealer Associations
> >(CINOA), the International Council of Museums (ICOM), the International
> >Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) and the principal actors of the art
> >market to join forces with UNESCO in a "comprehensive mobilization so that
> >stolen objects should not find their way to acquirers".
> >
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>
>
>Dr Linda Young
>Senior Lecturer, Cultural Heritage Management
>University of Canberra
>Tel: 02-6201 2079
>[log in to unmask]
>
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