Iraq National Library and Archive Suffers Siege; Director Pleads for Support
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 8/13/2007
Last week, Iraq's National Library and Archive (INLA), who had been burned and looted four years ago, was stormed by armed Iraqi security forces, Director Saad Eskander said windows and doors were smashed, and staffers threatened during the two-day siege. He had to plead with them to not damage the library’s collections, which include rare books, manuscripts, and newspapers from the Arab world. While an Iraqi Defense Ministry spokesman said American and Iraqi forces routinely commandeer houses and buildings as part of military operations, ABC News reported, Eskander said the National Library and Archives should be out of bounds.
The soldiers said they were using the library to protect Shiite worshippers on their way to a shrine—which is more than 15 miles away, Eskander pointed out with skepticism. "In July, U.S. soldiers entered the INLA three times. It seems clear to me that the actions of U.S. soldiers have encouraged Iraqi national guards to do the same," he wrote, in an e-mail sent to Andy Stephens of the British Library, and circulated further by Stephens.
In a statement, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) and International Council on Archives (ICA) noted "with grave concern" Eskander’s reports, also citing an earlier incident in which an American "military patrol entered INLA's main building without the director's permission." The organizations stated, "IFLA and ICA express professional solidarity with Dr Eskander and his staff and call upon the Government of Iraq and the appropriate military authorities to respect the integrity of this important cultural institution."
In his email to Stephens, Eskander wrote, "I need all the support I can get from around the world." The national guardsmen who entered the library, he wrote, "have violated the instructions of the Council of Ministers, which clearly assert that Iraqi security and armed forces cannot enter any state-run institution without a prior approval of the government and the concerned authorities.
From November 2006 through July 2007, Eskander posted an online diary, hosted by the British Library, of the struggles to revive the library and operate during a war. He wrote his last entry at the end of July, concluding:- "There will be no Diary any more. The real reason is that I feel guilty about writing it. For sometime now, I have felt deep-down that I have been exploiting the tragedies and scarifies of my staff, especially those who lost their lives. I discovered that by writing the diary I put a very heavy moral burden on my shoulders; as if I have been emotionally blackmailing the readers. I do strongly believe that I have no right to do so. I seize this opportunity to apologize sincerely to everybody."
