' , .. ,. .. I Doc. 1 ~c~iona to return ana p;ote~t Iraqi cu~turalRrope~ty A l l t he world was shocked at the scenes we saw in e arly A pril of l oot ing at the Iraq Museum i n Baghdad a nd o f l i braries and a r chives throughou t Iraq hav i ng b een ransac ked and burned. No matter h ow this c ame a bout - and acc ounts still differ on thi s point - it seemed c lea r that a signif i cant par t of the heritage, no t j us t of the I r a q i people, but o f a l l mankind , had been des t royed, damaged or stolen. Fortunately, in the subsequent months i t ha s bec ome c lear t hat some of the worst fears of scholars and others about t he si~e of the losses were unjustif ied. For i ns tance, at t he Iraq Museum, many of the most import a nt ob jects had been stored in safe locations before t he war . Al t hough the looters made off with many pricele ss obje cts, some of those - including the world- famous 1'/a:ck<":J. V nse - - have subsequently been returned thanks to t he no- questions-asked amnesty which the Coalition promulgated i n t he weeks following the looting. The count of missing items is still being carried out but the overall losses are now thought to be approximately 10,000 obj e cts out of a t o tal of perhaps 175,000 which the museum col l ection con tained. Of the approximately 10,000 missing obje c ts, abou t 5,000 are cylinder seals and the rem aini ng S, OCO are relati ve ly minor objects such a s pottery fragments and small jewellery items. Forty-two pieces take n from the museum galleries wer e con s i dered "majorw ob j e cts. Ten of these ob j ects have been ret u. rned, among them the famous Warka va se; thirty of the major ob j ects a r e sti ll miss i ng . A l though these losses are very serious, by no me a ns a l l i mpo r t ant cultural sites were affect ed in this way. ~wny o f them were identified in advance as needing special protection and \'fere unaffected by the fighting . This was particularly the case with religious s i t es s uc h a s t he mosques in the holy cities of Najaf and Ka r bala . The re have of course been reports of armed gangs of l ooters operating at a number of archaeological s ites a cross Iraq, especially in the south. There ~ re believed to be at least 10,000 archaeological site s in Ira q, many of them in relatively remote areas, ~nd loot i ng was a lready a growing problem through the 1990s. · Never theless, the Coalition has made strong efforts to de o.l with the problem. In response to the .reports i t i nc reased patrols and overflying at many of the sites. At t he end of July, army commanders in each of tho CPA Reg ions were ordered to place 24-hour guards on the 50 CoS ·· ·- M il Assl \::J.I!C. Sec I I (b) 1l (6) ' , The United States ~s a party to the 1970 UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting a nd Preventing the I llicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property. Under our domesti c law to i mplement t hat Convention, no article of cul t u ral property doc umented as pertaining to the inventory of a museum or relig ious or secular public monume nt o r similar institution may be bnported into the Un ited States. This convention, however. only covers i nventoried mat erials stolen from musewns and other cultural institutions. Objects looted from sites are excluded. To overcome this loophole, the United State s has established o ther legal measures. When, for e xample. on May 23, 2 003, t he U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Fore ign Assets Control (OFAC) lifted most o f the Iraqi sanctions embargo, it e xplicitl y exclud ed t ransactions dea ling with Iraqi cultura l p roperty o r other ite ms o f archaeological , histor ical , cul tura l , rare sci e ntific a n d r eligious importance illegally removed from t he Iraq Nationa l Museum, t he National Library a nd o t h er l ocation s in Ira q e inc~ Augue t 6, 1990 . On August 9, a m an was charged in New York wi th smuggl ing stolen Iraqi artifacts bearing the registration marks of the I1:aq National Museum in Baghdad . He had purchased them as • souvenirs • in Baghdad and they were i dentified and seized by Customs officers during a routine l uggage search at JFK airport. "This administration has sent a clear signal that we would not allow thieves to take advantage of the conflict in Iraq to pilfer its antiquities," us Attorney Roslynn Mausko pf said ~n a statement about the incident. In the UK, the Government is also a party .. to t h e 1970 UNESCO Convention. The UK therefore now has a n obligation under article 7(b) of the Convention to a ssist the legitimate authorities in Iraq to sec u r e t he r eturn to Iraq of illicitly exported or imported items. ' roos t important sites, as identified by i nternational scholars . Action has a lso been taken to ens ure t hat salaries are paid to the guards on the Board of Antiquities payroll who have tra ditiona l ly provided protection at man y o f these site s. Despite these effor ts inside Iraq, i t is i nev i table that p r eci o us i tems will f i nd their ~1ay out o f the country. so a ction s have a l so been taken to make it as d i f ficult as possible for a nyone to import these artefacts or t o trade in t hem. ,. .. , I t was recognised that , t o complement the Convention, a new criminal offence should ideally be i ntroduced in the UK to reinforce i ts inte rpretation. It is already a c rimi nal offenc e to tra f f ic i n s t olen goods such as those taken f rom the Iraq Museum but t h is offence does not ex tend to objects which have been excavat ed or r emoved from a bu i l d ing, structure, monument or site. The UK Government i s now backing a Priva ~e M embers Bil l i n Parl i ament which woul d creat e a new crimina l of f ence to count e r t h is i llicit traffic. It is antic ipat ed that t his Bi ll will complete its passage and become law in the autwun. But the UK also took swift a ction to implement Resolution 1483 in relation to the impor t a nd trade in unlawful l y removed Ira qi cultural property . These res trictions were brough t i nto force in the UK on 14 J une by th e Iraq (United N a t i ons) Order 2003. This Or der imposes a prohibition on the importation of any item of i llegally removed I raqi cultural property . I t will catc h a ny person who holds, c ontrols or deals i n a ny item of Iraqi cul t ural property illegally removed from its location since 6 August 1990. This Order is of course intended to deal "1i th the emergency situation in Iraq a nd sanctions can be lifted onc e security and political and economic infrastructures are fully r est ored in I r aq. But by then t he UK Government i ntends that the Dealing in Cultural Objec ts (Offences ) Bill shoul d hnve become law a nd will further t he fight to s tra ngle the global i llicit trade probl em, ·from Iraq and elsewhere. C ustoms o f f i cers a t all port s of ent ry into the UK have been a ler ted to locati ng and i dentifying any Iraqi antiquities , with a view to proGecuting thos e who a ttempt to breach the impor t controls. A vital tool to enable them to do so is the Red List of the 1 00 m ost important categories of antiqu iti e s that could have been looted or stolen in Iraq. This illus t r ated list, to which the Italian Carabinieri, the British Muse um and other major institutions c ontributed, has been published by INTERPOL and t he International Council on Museums. It wi l l be a vital tool, not only for customs officials , but also for art dealers and collectors to he l p them to r e cogni se objects which could have originate d from Iraq. • This act ion has been combined wi th the work carried out by the CPA w hich has seen it as a priority' to engage I r aqis thems e l ves in decisions about the future of their cul tural heritage by the e stablishment of an Iraqi Culture Cabinet. Among the actions the Cult ure Cabinet has contributed to have been the choice of a r eplacement • • ,. building for the burned-out National Library and fitting- out of the former House of Costume as a temporary home for the Ministry itself . • :\-Tinistry of Culture State Doard of Antiquities und Heritage Chairman's' Officem:::\1'>\------, P.O Box: IHJS6 Baghdad - Republic .1<7-C/J::J.frl---t; ~ • .,,JJ ~ji!I_,~.Ud ~ .d iJ•f. ~.J yt< • l(b)(2) t !!OS6 :ywo- ""l(b..,)(6=)-..b:;;~:r;;(b=;;)(;;<;2l;======L.,~.; Jfol\'1 .~;..>;ll jly-11 .:i.!;~- Jl.lO..f - _, ' .. . . :. . . . . ·- ,.; ..... -·• Ambassador Bremer Coalition Provisional Authority Baghdad, Iraq And, Ambassador Cordony Ministry of Culture • Baghdad, August I71 h 2003 Dear Sir, With reference to the e-mail we ~eived from Mr. Kristen on August 05, about the Jewish~rchive discovered in the flood«..-d basement of the Mukbabarat, we have viewed then1, and we support your effort to protect these documents from further damage, and agree with your staff that we do not, at this time, have the resources to undertake this lengthy process. According to paragraph No. 21 of the Iraqi Antiquities Law No. 55 for lhe year 2002, we agree with your plan to send the documents to the United States temporarily for the restoration by Natio.naJ Archives and Records Administration (NARA) on the condition that, following the restoration, the documents arc returned to Iraq, in a period not exceeding two years from the day of this approva~ and according to the attached list. With our best regards, 'J~~~aG\~ Dr. jaber Khalil Ibrahim Chairman of the Board . I I I I i j • 030913-303 COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY BAGHDAD 13 September 2003 MEMORANDUM FOR CHIEF OF STAFF. COMBINED JOINT TASK FORCE 7 FROM ADMINSTRATOR. COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORrrY . SUBJECT: Tasking Letter - 3256- 303 Request for Transfer of Antiquities I Museum I Art Objects to the Iraq National Museum Reference: Support Request from Ministry of Culture I request that the Commander, Combined Joint Task Force 7 take the appropriate action to provide for the transfer of antiquities, museum and art objects successfully recovered during raids and patrols to the Iraq National Museum. WHO: Ministry of Culture WHAT: Return and transfer antiquities, museum and art objects successfully recovered during raids and patrols to the Iraq National Museum. WHEN: 20 September 2003 WHERE: Iraq National Museum (MB 428 878) WHY: The antiquities, museum and art objects successfully recovered during raids and patrols need to be returned or transferred to the Iraq National Museum for examination and authentication for placement in the appropriate museum and coil ection. COORDINATING INSTRCUTIONS: 1) All Major Subordinate Commands coordinate with the Ministry of Culture Point of Contact for transfer instructions. 2) Have the Commander, 812th Military Police Company and the Commander, 2d Armored Cavalry contact the Ministry of Culture Point of Contact for transfer of historic artifacts seized durtng raids in the AI Rashid neighborhood. These artifacts may include the purported •sword of Saladin". Direct ooordlnation authorized between the tasked unlt(s) and the Point of Contact listed below. . . MINISTRY OF CULTURE POINT OF CONTACT: j(b)(2) I l(bll6l ' lat DSN·IIbll?l lor CEll: ,_ ____ .......Jand NIPRNET: l(b)(6) Wbl(2) 1 ' Doc. 3 . I ' ' . ' • 030913-303 - ..... ··:···.:· .··.~· . :• ' '"'•·· ···~\ ~ ..... ······-·· ............................ ,. ~. ' I . ' ' .. ·, ·,·,'i I I !IH q,.,,. I, . .., • CO/\LJTlON PROVISIONAL AUTJ-IORITY BAGHDAD ACTION MEMO October 19, 2003 FOR: FROM: SUBJECT: .. • THE ADMINISTRATOR ~- . ~~· I , ..., ~ .,. , '~ . r·r ···- - ~- Am b. Mario Bondioli Os1o: Senior Advisor, Ministry of Culture ! ' • FPS Status for~ Archeological Sites Guards The Ministry of Culture havc1 on their payrolls 1,298 :1rcheological sites guards, about 400 contmct site guards and other: guards protecting their facilities in Baghdad nnd in the rest of the country. The protection ofthb sites that these guards arc currently providing is inadequate for countering lhc highly incrensed ami eflicient looting we are facing. The ultimate responsibly for urresting the looters must rest: with the intemal security forces of the area where the sites are located. The guards need to ~e trained to rely on lraqi Police or, for the time being, Coalition Forces for chasing the looters, from the sites or an-csting them. In order to contact the local security force from the sites, t,hey need to get a communication system either by phone or by radio and be trained to use 1t. · ' ' I propose to change the cunent status of the guards from individual units on each site, under the very vague supervision ofthc}local inspectors of the Board of Antiquities, into FPS guards, in unifonns, sufficiently armed, with the power to detain looters tor 12 hours. I propose to organi7.c the new slmclure trom the top, gelting •m eflkientlraqi Ol'ficer, either from the Police or lhe fonm~r Imqi Army, to start by recruiting 25 efficient Iraqis to be trained, in a customized FPS training program, as trainers to be sent to the sites to train the local guards for their new duties. As a matter of course, the loca1 counterparts ofthe guards, i.e. the local security forces, will have to be informed of the new sitd protection system and receive instructions to. support it as far as possible. I FPS has bce11 informed of the general idea and is ready Ia support it with training and free of charge uniforms. Same reactiqn from CJTF7 for the supply of weapons. The U.S. State Dcparunem Cultural Heritage!Office has funds dedicated to a site protection project and has agreed in principle to Lhe general idea. I have received a first posi£ivc reaction fi·om the Minister of Culture, AI Jaza'iri, and from the new Director of the Board of Antiquities, Dr. Rabia al Qaisi . ... I I • . I UNCLASSIFIED / ... I Recommended Action: ' • I l ' • I I ' UNCLASSJ FJED l > • That you approve to proceed jn refining the project; quantify the funds needed for each of its parts; estahlish what the best communication system is, etc. ' 1 ~ . l ,i ·, ''- Approve: ~LA... v , Disallprove: Approve with modificatio n: A'l-fACHMENTS: NONE : COORDINATION: NONEi I • ' ' ' ' I ' . I • t I l ' ' ·'' ' ' ' I ' I ' I ' • ' • I • • • . • ' ' / ( • UNCLASSIFIED I ----- --- - --- IDoc. 5 UNCLASSIFIED 25 1\ovcmbcr 2003 Archeological Sites Protection Project First Implementation Pha:;e THE l>HI QAR PROVINCI:: PROT OTY P£ Dhi Qur Provin~_;c, due to the active presence of Italian Carabinieri. can he considered a mocicl ror the realization all over Iraq of the Archeological Sites Protection Project. 1\fter reviewing the present situation with the Antiquities Director in Nasserya, Abduhuuir a\ Hamdani, and Directorl(b)(6) I fl-om the General Directorate of Exc·· ·. . . . . .... ·. : .. · ... :: .. ":": : ...... ::·:::·: .. ....... . .. :·::·. > ... . ... ·· ... . .. ·. :·:· .. ·.:. . .. .. .. . . · ...... · · ........ . .... . .. · ........ : ·:· . .. . .. . . · .. . . .. . .. ..... · .. ·. · ... . ... · .. Pursuant to the ongoing USG investigation in io the looting of the Iraqi Museum in Baghdad a letter authorizing the storage and inventory of the treasure ofNimrud is requested hy the Governor of the Central Bank of Iraq, On April 22. 2003. a joint Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement {BICE) and USCETRCOM-Joint Interagency Coordination Group (JIACG) unit anived at the Iraq Museum, Baghdad~ to conduct an investigation into the 1ooting of the museum compound. The investigation has identified several high value artifacts which have been stored in the Iraq Central Bank, Agents and lraq Museum employees have been given access to verify that the boxes contah1ing the high value at.tifactsj in,cluding the treasure ofNimrud are in the Iraq Central Bank. The treasure ofNimrudis currently being ;stored in a vault which was flooded and cmTently is not suitable for storage. A request was made ttJ provide lmq Museum employees, military and BICE agents access to inspect and inventory the various artifacts and the treasure ofNimrud und.er the supervision of Iraq Central. Bank officials. This request was made to insure that none of the Iraq Museum artifacts have been stolen. Additionally agents requested lraq Central Bank officials to move the treasure ofNhnrud to a secure vault iri the Iraq Central Bank which was not Hooded to insure the artifacts will not be destroyed. . ..... . . .. . ... ::::: . . . .... ... . .. · .. . ... . . .... . · .. ··. · .. .. ... . . · .. . ·· ... . . ... . .. ·. ... .. . . . .. . ·· ... . .... .. .. . .. ... ·. ·:· . ·:·.:·· · ..... . . .. ... . .. .... ·.· . .. . ..... .. :•. .. . . ..... ·::: .::.:· .·· . . . ::.: >·\ .. .. : : . · .. :··· .. . .. · .. ::· . . .. . . .. . ····· . .. . .. ... ... : ...... . . . . . . ·. .. ·· .. . . · .... . .. .. ..... .. . . ... The Governor oftlteiraq Central Bank requested a letter from Ambassador Bremer authorizing the storage, authentication and inventory ofthe artifacts in the Iraq Central Bank. BICE agents are requesting a letter be provided outlining these .requests to the Governor of the Iraq Central Bank in order to insure the artifacts are verified and properly secured. l(b)(3):1o usc §130b 1 Supervisory Special Agent BICE agent in charge of the Customs portion of the Museum ilwestigation for the USG ..... . . .. . . .. . . . ·. ·. . . . . . . ·. . . . · .. · ....... ·. ·.·.··.··:··:··:· ... ·:: . . . . .. ... ... . . ·. ··.: ......... :::: > .. : · ..... ·:: . ······ ,__..... • :. :·.:.:::· :. :::.-~'!Y' .. ~·:: . . .... ~. ::-::- . . . . . ·- ~. . . ·. .. . . . . . · ... .,.--.-..,...,.. ~· . . ··· ·:.:· . . · . " -- .. :: . . ... :· - ·:-:-:: .~: : . . .... ... '• . · ........ . ... :·::· .... .... : ... .. ,,. · .... · .. . .. .. · ... . · .. ... . " · .. · . .... . - - . - . . . ..... . . .· ... . .. ·· • . · .::.:·· . . ::-::: . . . . . . . . . : : . . .. ····· ... '• .. .. .. - .... . . . ..... .. . · . . . :: :-:: . . . . . . . . . · ... . . .. . · .... . " . ...... . ·· ····· . '•, .. ... · .. .. ..... . . · ... :·.: .. ..... .'· . : ... :· .. :· · .. -: .•. · .. .' .. : .. · .. ' .... . . . . .. . ~~~ ~ ~1 a.1a1w. . .. · . . ... . ::::· · ·.::: : :. ~ . COALITION PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY :f:· .' : . -. ·:: · .. . , .. . ... ·. . . ·. .. f.. ___ ..;.,....,...-----------------------~"- ·:·.. . ", .. . . ... . . . . . . . ·. . . . . . .. . .. . ... ... . " - . . ·:. . ·· .. ·. .... . . ·. :- .. . . .. Letter of Authorization 03 June 2003 .. . . ... - .. . . . · . · . . . . .. -- .. - .. . . . . " ... .. . .... ·: .. . " . . . : :.: . .. .. . . .. . . . . . " .. Governor Centra. ~ Bank Baghdad Dear Sir, You are hereby authorized and directed to move five stora~ crates-.from·. the State Board of Antiquites from their present location in the flooded vault to a safer and drier vautt for inventory and repacking. vv{ l , Paul Brel"l1er Coalition Provisional Authority .. . ,_ . . " . •. ·-:-::: . . . ........ : . . . . . '• . ···. ·:·-:·: ·:·. .... ':.:--... . .... . ..... · .. . . . . : ·:-. . . . . . . .. . . .... ::. . . . . .. . . . .. . . ..... ··· ... •, " . . . . - . - · .. . . . . . ... . . · .... · .. . : . ·: ... . . . . . . .. " . .. . ·... . . . .. . . . . . . .. . . . ... ---- ----- ~~\::)\.~~-\~ ~rf~A--~v~ COALITION PROVISIONAL A UrT-IORITY BAGHDAD ACTION MEMO January 19, 2004 FOR: THE ADMTNTSTRATOR FROM: Mario Bon · sio, Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Culture SUBJECT: Archeological Site Protection (ASP) Project The ASP Project, which you approved when it was presented to you in an Action Memo on Oct.191 h 2003, is proceeding at a good pace for all aspects vrithin my control. The State Department has received assurances from the Packard Humanities lnstitute that they can provide funding to the ASP Pro·cct u to $1M. My deputy, Prof essor John Russell, was able to . personally meet with (b )(3): 10 US who gave indications that additional funds might be provided to the ASP Prqject as needed. Tl1c State Department has given to me appropriate guidance on the subject. As you will recall, the first steps in the ASP Project foresee that the guards currently 011 the State Board of Antiquities and Heritage (SBAH) should receive FPS Status. FPS status with the rank of Colonel was given to a former Major ofthe Iraqi Anny,l(b)(6) l selected by the Minister of Culture, after a one month Training Course that took place in November. •. On January 7, 2004, 11 FPS Trainers graduated from the Baghdad Police Academy. They are c - urrently giving FPS status to the SBAH guards in Dhi Qar province, Wtder the supervision : or Colonel k6l/6) I Th.e Minister of Culture has included the ASP Project among his five ma jor priorities in his letter to yoll The ASP- Project is ins{ead encountering difficulties wjthin CPA itself. Forty pickup trocks that were assigned to the ASP Project by Ambassador Kennedy from the OFF- Car for Agriculture program were diverted to other national security programs. More worryingly the Senior Advisors at MOF and MOl may not assign to the Ministry of Culture - SBAH sufficient funds to pay to SBAH guards the salary corresponding to their newly acquired FPS status, which has been already given to some of the guards for which TOA from CPA and CITF- 7 to the Ministry of Culture is taking place. This happens at the very moment when the Ministry oflnterior must give to lhe Police Stations, selected according to the ASP Project, ru-m inslnlct.ions for prompt intervention when caiJed upon by the FPS-ASP guards in order to arrest or a.llcast chase the looters . .l consider the irreplaceable loss of thousands of years old artifacts which is currently taking -place a disaster for the whole of mankind. International public opinion is following the developments with the utmost attention. The press highlighted the looting that Marvin Josephson and his group witnessed and Fox News tllmcd during the helicopter trip to Nasiriya. M y Deputy's Info Memo on what we saw is hereby attached. UNCLASSIF1ED -2- RECO:M:MENDA TION : That you confer to the ASP Project the high priority it deserves, and instruct CPA MOT and MOF to give to the ASP Project their full support, including providing to the Ministry of Culture- SBAH sufficient funds to pay to the FPS- ASP guards their proper salary. Approve: __ _ ATTACHMENTS: COORDINATION: Disapprove: __ _ Approve with modification:. __ _ Prof. John Russell's Info Memo Note on the ASP Project London Sunday Times article, January 1 I, 2004 Fox News Iraq Journal, January 16,2004 Anthony McDonald, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Finance; Steve Casteel, Senior Advisor, Ministry oflnterior; Giles Denham, Senior Advisor, Ministry of Civil Affairs UNCLASSIFIED COALITlON PROVISIONAL AUTHORITY BAGlmAD INFOMEI\10 January 19, 2004 FOR: THE ADMINISTRATOR FROM: John Russell, Deputy Senior Advisor for Culture SUBJECT: Helicopter assessment of archaeological site damage On January 15, I took advantage of the helicopter trip planned for Marvin Josephson to plot a course over some major archaeological sites in Qadissiyah Governorate in order to assess damage from looting. We flew over five sites, three of which had been destroyed by looters: • Mashkan-Shapir. Major Old B