TEHRAN, Feb 03 - More than a thousand antiquities which had been stolen from Iraq have been returned to the nation. They were handed over by Jordanian authorities who confiscated them from smugglers.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Ancient Sumerian texts, pottery and glass vessels from the Babylonian era, which had been all on display at the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad, were returned to a grateful Iraq by neighbor Jordan. The precious artifacts had been looted from the country by smugglers.
In all, 1,300 pieces were handed back by Jordanian authorities during a ceremony on Saturday and now are being displayed at the Iraqi museum. Iraq's Culture Minister has hailed their return.
"Iraqi heritage has suffered a lot during the last decades in terms of looting and destruction. And we believe that protecting Iraqi heritage is a global task because it's the heritage of all humankind," says Abdulameer al-Hamadani.
Iraq is putting in a lot of effort to restore its rich cultural heritage after it was decimated after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Al-Hamadani is calling on the international community to support Iraq in its quest to recover its antiquities.
(Source: AP)
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