Emiratis involved in smuggling Iraqi antiquities

An Emirati newspaper said on Sunday that Emiratis had bought Iraqi antiquities illegally, indicating that Iraq was approaching the UAE to retrieve them.

An official source as saying: “The Iraqi Ministry of Culture plans to conduct a series of visits to Arab and European countries, in order to confirm Iraq’s agreement with the world to recover the looted antiquities, whether before years through smuggling, or stolen pieces after a year 2003, ”

He pointed out that “some countries such as Turkey and Jordan, dealing with Iraq in a sporting spirit, in the file of the recovery of the country’s antiquities, but there are some European countries that shirk from international agreements related to the restoration of antiquities to the mother country, under the pretext of fears of theft, or lack of care.”

He added that “Iraq during the past five months has been able to recover more than 190 artifacts, mostly dating back to the era of the Babylonian era, and more than half arrived in Arab countries through the smuggling and illegal sale of Arab traders, including Iraqis.”

He pointed out that “Iraq is currently heading to approach the UAE officially, in order to retrieve a lot of artifacts purchased by UAE nationals illegally.”

“These Emiratis keep these antiquities as decoration in their homes,” he said. “The UAE government does not prevent it, nor does it confiscate it, a country with which Iraq has a good relationship. We hope to reach an agreement with other Gulf countries.”

The newspaper quoted MP Ali al-Budairi as saying that “the confrontation with the countries of the world easy issue of retrieval of artifacts, and there is a serious pursuit by the current Minister of Culture, and even Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.

He explained that “there is a difficult confrontation, with the entity of the Zionist enemy, as it has been working to seize for years the effects of Iraq, claiming that it is Jewish, and return to it originally.”

He continued that “the Zionist entity, employing Arab and foreign brokers and traders, in order to buy the largest possible number of artifacts associated with the history of Mesopotamia,” pointing out that “the occupation state got a large number of pieces, but there is an Iraqi movement to prevent it, according Legal channels. ”

It is noteworthy that the Iraqi antiquities suffered the largest looting in 2003, which led to the disappearance of thousands of priceless pieces from the National Museum in the capital Baghdad and other sites.

Iraq has recovered about 1,046 artifacts from the United States, which were among many pieces that fled at different times illegally.

Cylinders from the Sumerian civilization, 3150 BC, were sold at Christie’s public auction in New York State, which was stolen in the aftermath of the first Persian Gulf War in 1991.

 

Smuggling of antiquities from the National Museum was also monitored in 2008 and referred to in a report by the Audit Bureau at the time, noting that smuggling operations continue, especially in remote areas that lack government protection.