- (Aljazeera + Agencies) -- Irreplaceable historical sites
and religious artefacts are being destroyed by the US-led occupation forces,
says Iraq's interim culture minister.
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- Sites including Babylon, one of the world's most renowned
archaeological treasures, are being damaged by the occupation forces, according
to minister Mufid al-Jazairi.
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- The minister also said on Sunday the US-led forces needed
to leave the area as soon as possible to avoid further destruction.
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- Heavy equipment, helicopters and other machinery used
by Polish-led forces based at Babylon, 100km south of Baghdad, are causing
irreparable harm, he said.
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- "Just their presence, with their heavy equipment,
is harmful in and of itself," the minister said, adding that helicopters
landing and taking off was just one of the problems.
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- "We don't know how much damage the military presence
has caused because our experts are not permitted to enter the site.
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- "But we have received information that several archaeological
sites have been damaged or destroyed," he said, mentioning the temples
of Ninma and Nabu, and the famed palace of Nibushadnizar.
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- Babylonia
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- Babylon was the capital of ancient Babylonia, an early
civilisation that existed from around 1800 BCE until 600 BCE.
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- Nebuchadrezzar II (reigned 605-562 Bc) built its most
famous hanging gardens, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
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- Large parts of it were reconstructed and restored to
its former glory by Iraq's former president Saddam Hussein in an attempt
to restore ancient historical sites preserving Iraq's rich and diverse
history.
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- Describing anecdotal accounts of the damage, al-Jazairi
said ancient roofs and walls had collapsed while other buildings had been
destroyed or badly damaged over a period of time.
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- Diggings
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- He also said workers employed by US contracting firm
Kellogg, Brown & Root (KBR) had been digging and building in the area
around Babylon, causing further damage.
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- Al-Jazairi said he did not know what the digging was
for and that his department had not been informed about it.
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- Polish commanders and representatives of KBR were not
immediately available for comment.
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- Iraqi officials raised the issue of damage to Babylon
in June with the former US occupation governor in Iraq, Paul Bremer, and
the former US-led forces commander, Lieutenant-General Ricardo Sanchez,
who issued a statement saying they were aware of the complaints.
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- No response
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- The minister said their complaints and suggestions fell
on deaf ears.
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- "We already asked Bremer in June to request that
an immediate end be put to these activities, but nothing happened,"
al-Jazairi said.
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- "We again ask the multinational forces to put an
immediate end to such activities. We can't ignore any more what's going
on at the site and the harm that is being done."
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- The Polish military contingent consists of about 8000
multinational troops operating in the southern-central region of Iraq,
with many of them based around Babylon.
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