West blasted over Iraq treasures
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www.bbc.co.uk The man in charge of recovering treasures looted from Baghdad's museum a year ago has criticised Western governments for failing to co-operate.
Matthew Bogdanos said 4,500 artefacts had been recovered so far, but 8,000 works - including some of the most valuable - were still missing.
The Interpol, France, Switzerland and Dubai had all failed to respond. The museum was looted last April, in the days after Saddam Hussein's fall.
Initial fears that 170,000 artefacts had been stolen proved unfounded.
The US appointed a 13-member team with military, immigration and customs personnel to recover the stolen goods.
Colonel Bogdanos, the team's head, said on Tuesday he could not find the words to express his anger at international law enforcement agencies for failing to help trace "some of the most priceless artefacts known to mankind".
"I cannot seem to get the international community - apart from the UK, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait and the US - interested in participating," he said.
I cannot seem to get the international community - apart from the UK, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait and the US - interested
"I can't seem to convince them... that this is a worldwide epidemic problem that needs immediate resolution."
Colonel Bogdanos said although the Interpol would be an ideal candidate to facilitate a global investigation, it was "unwilling or unable" to do so.
He added that the recovery of the Iraqi artefacts would be left to "sheer luck", unless more governments were ready to devote resources and personnel.
Investigators believe some objects were stolen to order and smuggled out of the country.
Thousands of valuable bead-shaped seals were stolen from locked, concealed store rooms.
Other important archaeological sites were also ransacked across Iraq, historically known as Mesopotamia and seen as the birthplace of modern civilisation.
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Baghdad Office / Agents
Mr. Walid Abdul-Amir Alwan
Bab Al-Mudham
P.O. Box 489, Baghdad - Iraq
Mobile: +964 790 183 1726,
E-mail: itmbaghdad@tcph.org
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