Protecting Iraqi culture

By Krystina Sibley

BAY AREA SCHOLARS and museum curators – shocked at the damage to Iraq's cultural resources inflicted by U.S. bombing and the failure of U.S. troops to protect institutions such as Iraq's National Museum and National Library from looting and arson (see "Year Zero," 4/15/03) are pushing to make sure wartime cultural neglect doesn't happen again.

Andrew Stewart, a UC Berkeley art history professor and a curator at the university's Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology, said the invading army mishandled what should have been a simple protection plan. So he drafted a petition in late April calling for a U.S. Senate investigation into the debacle.

Part of the petition – which was presented to the offices of Sen. Barbara Boxer and Sen. Dianne Feinstein in May – calls for Senate ratification of the 1954 Hague Treaty for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

"In times of war the United States has generally observed the terms of the 1954 Hague Treaty even though it has never formally signed it," Stewart told us. "We must ratify it completely and accept responsibilities as an occupying power, including the protection of all cultural property until the Iraqis are allowed [to] and can safeguard their culture themselves."

David Stronach, a professor of Near Eastern archaeology at UC Berkeley, said the Hague Treaty needs to be taken seriously and military personnel are essential to Iraq's cultural preservation. "Iraq is such a large country with so many places and artifacts of distinction that it's going to be difficult for forces to be everywhere," he said. "It's truly tragic, but we're going to see looting and damage in the coming months."

It's a fact of life that some people in poverty are going to take whatever advantages come their way, Stronach said. For many Iraqis and art dealers who are in the know, stealing artifacts and looting archaeology sites are the best ways to make a quick buck.

"It's horrifying to see what is, effectively, the source of our entire civilization be sacked," said Renée Dreyfus, curator of ancient art at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor. "But how can you blame citizens who have been suffering from years of war, sanctions, and oppression?"

We must formally show that we are dedicated to cultural heritage, she said. For many in the Bay Area, there's no doubt that the ancient cultural heritage of the Iraqi people is at least as pivotal for their future success as oil reserves are to the country's economic stability.

Archaeological sites attract tourists, artists, researchers, and businesses and can be more stable than any resource-driven industry, said Marian Feldman, an assistant professor of Near Eastern art at UC Berkeley.

Initial estimates of thousands of antiquities stolen from the National Museum have since been narrowed to 38 key items on official lists. But U.S. Marine colonel Matthew Bogdanos, who's leading the team of military and civilian researchers to compile an inventory of stolen goods, said it will take months, if not years, of investigation to find out what's really missing. Yet beyond what happened at the National Museum, Iraq's sacred sites still need protecting.

Coalition forces are currently protecting Nimrud, Kush, Nineveh, and Hatra, but Nippur, which was the religious center of the Sumerian and Mesopotamian civilization, along with Isin, Uruk, Lagash, Ur, and Larsa, among others, are still vulnerable to looting.

"Unfortunately, we've heard nothing from our government regarding how they plan on protecting other sites," Stewart said. "And we've heard nothing but silence from our California senators and representatives regarding any initiative."

Feinstein and Boxer, as well as Reps. Nancy Pelosi and Tom Lantos, did not return Bay Guardian phone calls for comment. And the only significant legislation on the issue was introduced by Republican representatives Phil English and James Leach, who May 7 proposed the Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection Act, H.R. 2009, which would accelerate import restrictions on Iraqi antiquities.

"We must fulfill our role as occupiers," Dreyfus said. "We must treat every site with care and protect it to our fullest capacity. Whether it's an antiquity or archaeological site, we must recognize that any loss is a major loss to human history. We must not think of everything in numbers; we should speak in terms of the importance each artifact and site brings to our understanding of civilization."