Second sack of Baghdad

THE looting and destruction of Iraq’s two national museums in Baghdad and Mosul, and the burning of the National Archives and the Quranic Library in Baghdad, brings back the memories of the catastrophic sack of Baghdad by the Mongol hordes of Hulagu Khan in 1258 AD. The pillage of the archaeological treasures, including priceless antiquities, artefacts, books and documents, could have been prevented if the occupying American forces had anticipated such possibilities and provided the armed guard to protect the museums, archives and libraries. This contrasts with British forces’ timely action to keep the Basra museum unharmed. The looting and destruction cannot be explained away as being unavoidable in a war situation or as part of the ‘collateral damage’.

In the destruction of Iraq’s cultural heritage the world has lost much of the country’s centuries old precious relics and documentation. If 9/11 reduced New York’s Twin Towers to rubble called ‘Ground Zero’, the second sack of Baghdad has taken this great repository of human history and civilization back to the ‘Year Zero,’ as aptly put by a leading western analyst. The least the Americans could have done was to take responsibility for their failure to take timely preventive steps. The US defence secretary, instead, had the effrontery to dismiss the happenings as “stuff happens”. Is it not outrageous that this sort of ‘stuff’ should have happened to Iraq’s museums and libraries and not to the oil ministry in the heart of Baghdad, which had been properly ‘secured’ the first thing as they entered Baghdad? Acts like these show how unsafe and cynical the world could become if sheer greed and material ambitions are to be allowed to define the emerging new order in world affairs — courtesy the US and its gun-toting allies.

Reports from Iraq have confirmed that the rampage at Baghdad’s National Museum continued for nearly 48 hours, during which the looters systematically went from shelf to shelf, stealing and destroying statues, pots and ancient tablets. The artefacts numbering an estimated 170,000, came from Babylon, Kalkhu, Nineveh and Ur — cradles of ancient Assyrian, Sumerian and Persian civilizations. When confronted with the figure, Donald Rumsfeld merely gave out a cynical smirk doubting if all of Iraq had that many ‘pots’. This is worse than the reaction the world media got from the Taliban after they had destroyed the ancient Bamiyan Buddhas; even they had the good sense not to gloat over their savage act. The burning of the National Archives and the Quranic Library — which housed a copy of every book published in Iraq, and the original manuscripts and official correspondence records since the times of the Ottoman Empire to the present day — is all the more condemnable because that took place three days after the looting of Baghdad Museum. By this time US forces certainly knew what was to be expected.

These are clear indications that governance of a post-Saddam Iraq requires much more than the presence of an occupation force. All logic dictates that those who have been party to Iraq’s destruction and plunder should be prevented from misruling it with impunity. It is time the UN stepped in and salvaged what is left of Iraq’s cultural, historical and intellectual wealth. One way to do that would be to make the lifting of the UN sanctions on the sale of Iraqi oil conditional on the withdrawal of the occupation forces and setting up of an interim UN administration, pending the formation of a new Iraqi government.

An expanded EU

IN a historic ceremony held symbolically in the birthplace of democracy, ten countries signed the treaty of accession to the European Union in Athens on Thursday. If all goes well, the ten will join the existing 15 nations to become full members of the EU on May 1, 2004. Eight out of the ten new members are former communist states or breakaways from former eastern bloc nations. The induction of Poland, Hungary,the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia reflects the dramatic shift in European politics following the break-up of the Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The other two aspiring members are the tiny islands of Malta and Cyprus. Cyprus represents a special problem because it remains divided into Turkish and Greek states. Under the treaty of accession, all of Cyprus will become part of the EU but the jurisdiction of the EU over the Turkish north will remain suspended until moves towards the island’s reunification succeed.

Conspicuous by its absence in the list of new entrants is Turkey. While the EU says that Turkey has still not fulfilled the criteria required to become a member, many in Turkey view its exclusion as having to do with the fact of its being predominantly Muslim and therefore an anomaly in Christian Europe. There are also the questions of Kurdish unrest and the military’s role in politics which are said to be among factors delaying Turkey’s fuller entry into the EU. The new members have worked hard to fulfil the tough criteria of full membership. The communist states have had to transform themselves into market economies and fully functioning democracies. The new-look EU will drastically change the character of the union. For one, its population will rise by 75 million to reach the 450 million mark and its area will expand by a quarter. The traditional dominance of France and Germany is also likely to be radically curtailed. The new EU will also shed the label of being a rich man’s club. The combined GDP of the new members is 40 per cent lower than those of the 15 existing members. Critics claim that the expanded EU will be hampered by a more cumbersome decision-making process and will find it even more difficult to speak with one voice on major issues. However, the expansion will further strengthen the EU’s status as an emerging counterweight to the overwhelming might of the US on the world stage.

IT in colleges

IT IS no surprise that only eight per cent of students in colleges in Karachi chose information technology as a subject for this year’s higher secondary certificate (HSC) exams. The reason for this has to be the hamhanded way the education authorities handled the introduction of this vital subject. The provincial government initially introduced IT as a compulsory subject for all students at the start of the academic year. However, after considerable criticism from students, parents and the media and the realization that most educational institutions did not have the equipment or the staff to properly teach this subject, the government reversed its earlier decision and allowed it to be taken as an optional course. This was most unfortunate because information technology already has a strong appeal among students and proper planning for the teaching of the subject at the HSC level was called for.

The education authorities have also been criticized for devising a syllabus that places too much emphasis on obsolete theoretical concepts. The provincial education department must ensure better planning and provisions so that when the subject is made compulsory, there will be enough computers and teachers for the students to be taught in a thorough and professional manner.