Reopening of museum in Baghdad is uncertain
Great museums engender great debate, and there is no exception for Iraq. Officials here are at odds over the reopening of Iraq's National Museum, the renowned institution that was pillaged after the American invasion in 2003 and has been closed to the public ever since.
Last week, Iraq's state minister for tourism and antiquities announced that next Monday the museum would reopen, an eagerly anticipated event seen as a milestone in the country's recovery. In a statement on Sunday, though, the Culture Ministry overruled the decision and put off indefinitely the chance for Iraqis to return to a museum that holds a rich collection of archaeological relics and art.
Jabir al-Jabiri, the senior deputy at the Culture Ministry, said in a telephone interview that the reopening announcement had been premature and surprised the ministry officials who have the final say.
"The museum is not qualified and organized to be opened," he said, adding that thousands of relics in the museum's storerooms were neither registered nor ready for public exhibition.
The museum has undergone extensive renovations since the violence in 2003, with assistance from other countries, including Italy and the United States...
Read entire article at International Herald Tribune
Last week, Iraq's state minister for tourism and antiquities announced that next Monday the museum would reopen, an eagerly anticipated event seen as a milestone in the country's recovery. In a statement on Sunday, though, the Culture Ministry overruled the decision and put off indefinitely the chance for Iraqis to return to a museum that holds a rich collection of archaeological relics and art.
Jabir al-Jabiri, the senior deputy at the Culture Ministry, said in a telephone interview that the reopening announcement had been premature and surprised the ministry officials who have the final say.
"The museum is not qualified and organized to be opened," he said, adding that thousands of relics in the museum's storerooms were neither registered nor ready for public exhibition.
The museum has undergone extensive renovations since the violence in 2003, with assistance from other countries, including Italy and the United States...