US embassy cable - 05BAGHDAD4968

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 004968 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR ECA AND NEA 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.0. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SCUL, PGOV, KPAO, PREL, IZ, Security 
SUBJECT: IRAQ'S STATE BOARD OF ANTIQUITIES AND HERITAGE 
(SBAH) AND THE IRAQI MUSEUM ACTIVELY ENGAGED WITH DONORS BUT 
THE SECURITY SITUATION STILL IMPEDES PROGRESS 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 4926 
 
1. (SBU) SUMMARY:  Iraqi State Board of Antiquities and 
Heritage (SBAH) Director, Dr. Donny George, explained to 
visiting Embassy Public Affairs (PA) officers that SBAH and 
National Museum staffs are ready to work, that cameras and 
motion detectors have been installed, but that the security 
situation in Iraq continues to delay the opening of the 
museum to the public.  Dr. George stressed what the Minister 
of Culture had told the Ambassador in a recent meeting 
(reftel) -- that there remains a need for better security at 
archaeological sites across the country.  Donor support to 
SBAH programs is active, with funding provided from the 
U.S., UNESCO, the Italians and the Japanese.  The Embassy's 
PA Section facilitated coordination between coalition 
military units and SBAH in the city of Samarra, but the 
security situation kept a SBAH delegation from visiting 
archeological sites there.  Dr. George expressed no concerns 
about Iraqi Jewish Archives remaining in the U.S for 
restoration. END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------------- 
SECURITY SITUATION IMPEDES PROGRESS 
----------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U) On December 7, Embassy PA Section Cultural Affairs 
Officer (CAO) and a DoD Cultural Liaison Officer (DCLO) 
assigned to PAS met with State Board of Antiquities and 
Heritage (SBAH) Director Dr. Donny George to discuss 
conditions at the Iraqi Museum and at archaeological sites 
around Iraq. Also present were SBAH Antiquities Committee 
Director Burhan Shakir, and Iraqi National Museum Director 
Dr. Ameer.  Dr. George emphasized that SBAH and museum 
staffs are ready to take on projects, but the security 
situation around the country continues to impede their work 
and to delay the reopening of the Museum to the public. 
Installation of USG-funded surveillance cameras (outside) 
and motion detectors (inside) at the museum is complete. 
Dr. George confirmed that there are plans and funds at the 
Ministry of Culture to install a new lighting system at the 
museum and to paint its interior.  Only 10 percent of the 
museum's collection is currently in the galleries (mostly 
fixed exhibits) with the rest of the museum's extensive 
holdings still locked in vaults for safekeeping. 
 
3.  (U) Coordination between the Ministry of Culture and 
SBAH is evolving, according to Dr. George.  The Iraqi 
Transitional Government recently placed SBAH under the 
authority of the new State Ministry for Tourism and 
Antiquities, but SBAH's budget remains with the Ministry of 
Culture.  Dr. George repeated concerns expressed earlier by 
the Minister of Culture to the Ambassador (reftel) regarding 
the importance of protecting Iraq's archeological sites. 
Dr. George asked that more vehicles, weapons and training be 
provided by the Embassy's Iraq Reconstruction Management 
Office (IRMO) to Iraq's new Facilities Protection Service 
(FPS) force.  According to Dr. George, the USG gave SBAH 
fifteen vehicles, which did arrive in Iraq, but five were 
stolen or lost at the airport before they could be 
delivered.  He added that UNESCO has provided 45 vehicles - 
donated by the Japanese - and training in Amman for 75 FPS 
officers - donated by the Italians.  To date, the Ministry 
of Culture has recruited a total of 1,370 FPS officers for 
Nasiriya, Samawa, Diwaniya and Babylon.  The Baghdad Police 
Academy has also provided some training, but more is needed. 
 
4.  (U) Dr. George estimated that the Iraqi Museum lost 
15,000 objects to looting immediately following the arrival 
of coalition forces in Baghdad.  Of that number, Dr. George 
stated that 4,000 have been relocated, but some of these 
remain outside of Iraq - in Kuwait, Syria, Jordan, Poland, 
Italy and the U.S.  Dr. George praised cooperation with the 
U.S. and expressed his satisfaction with the level of 
support coming from the U.S. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
DIVERSE DONORS SUPPORT A WIDE RANGE OF PROJECTS 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
5.  (U) Dr. George characterized the World Monument 
Fund/Getty Conservation Institute-funded satellite image 
survey of Iraqi archaeological sites as his highest priority 
project.  He explained that there are currently 12,000 
registered sites, but there will be over 100,000 once the 
survey is completed. The State University of New York at 
Stony Brook is funding a three-year electronic subscription 
to archaeological journals and the training of six Museum 
conservators in the U.S.  Iraqi National Museum Director 
Ameer noted that she is scheduled to attend a museum 
management course soon at the Field Museum in Chicago.  She 
called for other Iraqi museum directors around the country 
also to get museum management training. 
 
6.  (U) Dr. George explained that SBAH has a museum in every 
province except Muthanna (Samawa) and Karbala.  He commented 
that this includes museums in Sulaimaniya and Erbil, but 
coordination with these is slow because everything must be 
coordinated with the Kurdistan Regional Government's 
Ministry of Culture.  There are plans to add a library and 
lecture hall to each museum.  Dr. George expressed 
satisfaction that an article was added to the Iraqi 
Constitution to bring antiquities under central government 
control since, in his view, the provinces are not ready to 
manage their cultural sites on their own. 
 
7.  (SBU) CAO then reviewed with Dr. George a list of six 
U.S. National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) projects 
(found at http://www.neh.gov/news/archive/20040408).  On 
April 8, 2004, NEH announced USD 559,000 in awards under its 
special initiative "Recovering Iraq's Past."  Of the six 
listed projects, he stated that only one, a USD 100,000 
project by the World Monuments Fund, had started.  According 
to Dr. George, no one had yet contacted SBAH about any of 
the other five, and no work on them has begun. 
--------------------------------- 
COORDINATION WITH MILITARY FORCES 
--------------------------------- 
 
8.  (SBU) Dr. George asked that the USG remain engaged to 
improve coordination between SBAH, Coalition Forces and the 
Iraqi military.  Both Coalition and Iraqi forces have caused 
damage to historical sites, he argued, that could have been 
prevented with better communications.  Military units 
inadvertently cause damage due to a lack of knowledge.  Dr. 
George explained that there were SBAH inspectors available 
to coordinate with military units in every province.  He 
promised to provide their telephone numbers (cellular and 
Thuraya) to the CAO. 
 
9.  (SBU) Recently, the Cultural Liaison Officer assigned to 
the Embassy's PA Section by the Civil-Military Operations 
directorate of Multinational Forces - Iraq (CMO/MNF-I) 
helped to establish direct communications between SBAH and 
military commanders in the city of Samarra in order to 
minimize damage being done to historical sites there.  SBAH 
scheduled a delegation to visit and inspect the area in 
order to advise the military on the protection of 
antiquities, but SBAH had to postpone the visit when the 
area was deemed to be still too dangerous for such work. 
Dr. George took the military's cooperation on this matter as 
a positive sign, however, and promised to work in similar 
ways on issues at other sites around the country. 
 
--------------------- 
IRAQI JEWISH ARCHIVES 
--------------------- 
 
10.  (SBU) Dr. George reconfirmed that there is no problem 
allowing Iraqi Jewish Archives (reftel) to remain in the 
U.S. for restoration, beyond the time period agreed to in an 
initial Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).  Dr. George met 
in Berlin recently with U.S. National Archives and Records 
Administration (NARA) representative Doris Hamburg to 
discuss the matter.  According to Dr. George, they agreed 
that at least two Iraqi conservators would travel to the 
U.S. to participate in the restoration.  CAO noted that the 
Embassy had just responded to a diplomatic note from the 
Iraqi government on this matter, confirming that NARA was 
continuing to protect the Archives, from both security and 
climate control perspectives, until such time as the planned 
restoration efforts can actually begin. 
 
11.  (U) COMMENT: Both the Ministry of Culture and SBAH work 
cooperatively with Embassy Baghdad on a diverse range of 
issues.  The Embassy's PA Section hopes to increase its 
efforts to facilitate better communications among the 
various actors - the Ministry of Culture, SBAH, donors and 
others - active in Iraq's cultural heritage sector. 
Improved communication with the military concerning Samarra 
sets a hopeful precedent, and post anticipates that local 
SBAH inspectors will be bringing more issues to our 
attention, constructively, in the future. END COMMENT. 
 
KHALILZAD