The US occupation authorities' decision to bar Jean-Marie Arnoult, a
library expert from France's Bibliotheque nationale, from entering Iraq
with a UNESCO expert mission due to arrive in Baghdad later this month
-- apparently on the grounds of his French nationality -- may be part
of a move to exclude all but nationals of members of the Anglo-American
coalition from the cultural reconstruction of Iraq.
Calls for the total exclusion of UNESCO from Iraq have come from
pundits associated with the Heritage Foundation, a conservative
Washington think-tank whose views often reflect those of officials in
the Bush Administration (see: Nile Gardiner, "Don't involve the U.N."
USA Today, May 20, 2003
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=679&ncid=742&e=14&u=/usatoday/20030520/cm_usatoday/5171586
)
A sad and alarming state of affairs.
Andras Riedlmayer
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http://www.cilip.org.uk/news/2003/210503.html
MEDIA RELEASE
Wednesday 21 May 2003
For immediate release
CILIP CONDEMNS EXCLUSION OF UNESCO LIBRARY EXPERT FROM IRAQ
Visa refused to Bibliotheque Nationale specialist by coalition administration
CILIP has reacted with astonishment to reports that the coalition
administration in Iraq has refused a visa to Jean-Marie Arnoult,
Inspecteur-General at the Bilbliotheque Nationale de France and
the sole librarian member of the UNESCO mission to Iraq, apparently
on grounds of his French nationality.
Reports of the refusal have come from IFLA: the International Federation
of Library Associations and Institutions, and its Secretary General
Ross Shimmon is urging the library and information community globally
to help expose this "scandalous state of affairs". It means that, despite
the widespread damage done to Iraq's library and information services
during the war, there is no librarian on the UNESCO team.
"UNESCO's initiative to bring about cultural reconstruction in Iraq is
of global importance, and the rebuilding and restocking of libraries
is a vital part of this work," says Jill Martin, Assistant Director
(Member Services) at CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and
Information Professionals and the Head of its International Division.
"To have a professional librarian as part of the expert team is essential
in order to carry this out effectively."
The British Library has already carried out an assessment of the
damage done to library and archive collections in Iraq, prepared by the
Library's Head of Asian and African Collections, Graham Shaw. Although
some collections do appear to have survived intact, the assessment
includes reports of looting and burning in a number of libraries in
Baghdad and other cities, and there are still many libraries about
which nothing is known as yet. "There is a real urgency for this
to be collected on the ground," the BL's report states.
CILIP has already pledged its support for an international effort to
restore Iraq's library and information services, and the refusal of
a visa to the expert library representative on a UNESCO-backed team
will severely hamper this effort. Jill Martin concludes: "CILIP
condemns the refusal of M Arnout's visa in the strongest possible terms."
Contact: Tim Buckley Owen, Head of External Relations.
Tel: 020 7255 0652
Email: <[log in to unmask]>
Notes to Editors
CILIP: the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals
is the leading professional body for librarians, information specialists
and knowledge managers, with over 23,700 members working in all sectors,
including business and industry, science and technology, further and
higher education, schools, local and central government, the health
service, the voluntary sector, national and public libraries.
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