MALI: TIMBUKTU’S CULTURAL HERITAGE MORE DAMAGED THAN FIRST ESTIMATED, UN AGENCY SAYS

From: UNNews <UNNews@un.org>
Date: 7 Jun 2013 16:00:00 -0400
Subject: MALI: TIMBUKTU'S CULTURAL HERITAGE MORE DAMAGED THAN FIRST
ESTIMATED, UN AGENCY SAYS
To: news11@ny-mail-p-lb-028.ptc.un.org

MALI: TIMBUKTU'S CULTURAL HERITAGE MORE DAMAGED THAN FIRST ESTIMATED,
UN AGENCY SAYSNew York, Jun 7 2013 4:00PMDamage to Timbuktu's
cultural heritage due to fighting between Government forces and Tuareg
rebels is more extensive than first estimated, a United Nations-led
team said today following an assessment of the fabled city.

Lazare Eloundou Assomo of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization's (UNESCO) World Heritage Centre said the destruction is
"even more alarming than we thought."

During the 28 May to 3 June visit, the team, led by UNESCO with
support from the UN mission in Mali (MINUSMA) and international and
local experts, discovered that 14 of Timbuktu's mausoleums, including
those that are part of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, were totally
destroyed.

In addition, the fighting destroyed parts of the Djingareyber Mosque,
one of three madrassas comprising the University of Timbuktu. It is
believed to have been built around 1327, mostly out of straw and wood
with some limestone reinforcements.

The emblematic El Farouk independence monument in the shape of a horse
at the entrance to the city was also destroyed, Mr. Eloundou Assomo
told journalists in the capital, Bamako, as well as in New York via
video conference from Mali.

While an estimated 4,203 manuscripts from the Ahmed Baba research
centre were lost, another 300,000 were exfiltrated, mainly to Bamako,
and "are in urgent need of conservation," he added.

UNESCO and its partners are now putting together a list of priorities
and focusing in more detail on the damages.

Based on an action plan for rehabilitation and preservation made
public on 18 February, "an estimated $11 million has to be found to
begin work as soon as possible," said Mr. Eloundou Assomo.

Some support in the form of national experts and financial assistance
has already been received, particularly from France and Luxembourg, he
added. A national workshop is scheduled for tomorrow to determine the
immediate next steps.

Also taking part in today's news conference were Cultural Minister
Bruno Maiga; Lassana Cissé, the National Director of Mali Cultural
Heritage; Aurélien Agbénonci, the UN Resident Coordinator in Mali;
Juma Shabani, the UNESCO Representative in Mali; and Richard Zink, the
Chief of the European Union Delegation in Mali.

According to UNESCO, Timbuktu was an intellectual and spiritual
capital and a centre for the propagation of Islam throughout Africa in
the 15th and 16th centuries.

During the mission, the team also met with local administrative and
military authorities, religious leaders and those responsible for the
safe keeping of cultural heritage to get a better understanding of
"the living heritage of the region, the cultural and religious
practices that define the peoples of the region," said Mr. Eloundou
Assomo.

He <"http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/damage_to_timbuktus_cultural_heritage_worse_than_first_estimated_reports_unesco_mission/">added
that the team had lengthy exchanges with the local communities "on the
best ways to reconstruct the mausoleums, safeguard the manuscripts,
give new life to intangible heritage and weave this action into a
broader movement for sustainable peace and reconciliation."

The team, guided by religious authorities, also visited the mausoleums
at the Cemetery of the Three Saints and the Alpha Moya cemetery, as
well as the Ahmed Baba Institute and several private libraries to
evaluate the condition of the manuscript collections, and assessed the
state of conservation of the three mosques.

Northern Mali was occupied by radical Islamists after fighting broke
out in January 2012 between Government forces and Tuareg rebels. The
conflict uprooted hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the
Malian Government to request assistance from France to stop the
military advance of extremist groups.

Earlier this week, UNESCO
<"http://www.unesco.org/new/en/media-services/single-view/news/felix_houphouet_boigny_peace_prize_to_be_awarded_to_president_of_france_francois_hollande_on_5_june/">awarded
the Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize to French President Francois Hollande
for his role in stopping "the violation of Mali's territorial
integrity, the violation of human rights, the taking of hostages and
the destruction of the cultural heritage of humanity in Timbuktu."

"Having assessed the dangers and the repercussions of the situation on
Africa and on Mali in particular, as well as on the rest of the world,
the Jury appreciated the solidarity shown by France to the peoples of
Africa," the Jury's President, Joaquim Chissano, said.

Created in 1989, the Prize is intended to honour individuals and
organisations that have made a significant contribution to peace and
stability around the world.

At the award ceremony, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bokova
<"http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/resources/unesco-expert-mission-evaluates-damage-to-malis-cultural-heritage/">reiterated
the agency's commitment to help Mali reconstruct and safeguard its
cultural heritage.

"UNESCO saved the temples of Egypt and rebuilt the Mostar Bridge," she
said. "UNESCO will rebuild the mausoleums of Mali."Jun 7 2013 4:00PM
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