October 07, 2014

Turning history into guns

editor:	Murat Suner

While the world stands idly by as ISIS threatens a massacre in the Syrian town of Kobane, a campaign to implement an international ban on trading Syrian artifacts is being organized by the Syria campaign.

As we reported earlier trading with stolen artwork is the third largest illegal business after the smuggling of drugs and weapons, summing up to a billion euro business globally.

Joining the campaign to stop turning artifacts into weapons The New York Times, Los Angeles Times and Newsweek covered an open letter calling on UN to ban trade in Syrian artifacts, which are publishing here as well.

"Our shared world heritage in Syria is being looted and turned into weapons of war. Ancient sites dating back to the very earliest moments of human civilisation are being crudely dug up and sold to foreign collectors.

The UN Security Council must ban the trade in Syrian antiquities, not only for the sake of protecting world heritage but also to reduce the violence.

The extremist group known as ISIS is one of a number of actors turning antiquities into guns pointed at Syria’s own people. ISIS now runs sophisticated looting operations, working with professional contractors and crews to dig up archeological treasures causing phenomenal damage to the sites. There is little doubt that these artefacts have flooded international markets and found their way into the collections of foreign buyers.

Most countries are lucky if they have one or two UN world heritage sites, Syria has six including the capital Damascus and the ancient city of Aleppo. As the birthplace of the world’s first alphabet and the earliest days of Christianity and Islam, the influence of Syria’s history on modern society is hard to overestimate.

The international community has a responsibility to do more to stop the destruction and it can. The UN Security Council banned the trade in Iraqi artefacts in 2003 and it needs to do the same for Syria now. An international trade ban will help strip these antiquities of much of their financial value and disincentivise the looting.

On its own, the ban will not be enough to save Syria’s heritage – but it’s a critical first step. Beyond reducing the market value for these antiquities, the ban will show international solidarity with the activists and archeologists who are risking their lives on the ground to protect this history. Despite the threats of armed groups and aerial bombardment, they enter heritage sites and use techniques dating back to World War II to protect them. They cover ancient mosaics with sandbags and dissemble sundials brick by brick in order to hide them for reconstruction at a later date.

Syria has a resilient sense of identity based on the concept of a shared citizenship around a common history and supported by a long and rich cultural heritage. Once the fighting stops, the people of Syria will need to reconnect with the symbols that unite them across religious and political lines. The country’s ancient past will be key to this – protecting Syria’s history is about safeguarding its future too."

The open letter is written by Dr Amr al-Azm, Associate Professor of Middle East History, Shawnee University, Professor at the University of Damascus (1998-2006) and Director of Science and Conservation Laboratories at the General Department of Antiquities and Museums in Syria (1999-2004)

You can join the campaign with your signature here.