By Shervin Boloorian, National Iranian American Council
Washington DC, July 27, 2006 - The National Iranian American
Council (NIAC) and the Iranian American Bar Association
(IABA) are joining forces to protect priceless
Persian artifacts from being sold for private profit. The artifacts excavated
from Persepolis are under threat of being seized by a legal defense team and
auctioned off as compensation for a 1997 terror bombing attack in
Israel.
Already having spurred a grassroots effort to persuade US
Department of Justice actors to assist the University of Chicago, NIAC is now
working with IABA and other Iranian-American organizations to pursue additional
and complimentary avenues to prevent the ancient relics from being auctioned
The Iranian government's recent decision to appear in court has opened
up opportunities for outside parties to play a role in protecting the artifacts.
Since the Iranian government is being sued, only the government in Tehran itself
has standing to represent itself. At a lower level court, the University of
Chicago's efforts to retain the clay tablets was rejected for this precise
reason.
The case is scheduled to be presented before the 7th Circuit
Court on August 21st and has gained the close attention of the Iranian-American
community since the unfavorable intercultural precedent that it sets.
Defense lawyers claim that Iran is financially responsible for a terror
act committed by the Palestinian group Hamas nine years ago in Jerusalem.
To fulfill Iran’s obligation, claimants are justifying the seizure of
pre-Islamic tablets loaned to the University of Chicago’s Oriental Institute in
1933, 64 years before the attack was committed.
Thus far, the five
victims of the bombing have collectively won $423.5 million in mental and
physical damages from the Iranian government, although Iran does not recognize
the US courts' jurisdiction.
Whereas NIAC is sympathetic to victims of
the terror attack, seeking the confiscation of the 2,500 year old that are part
of the Iranian nation's cultural and historical heritage is simply unjustified.
Together with IABA and other interested community groups, NIAC is
preparing a coordinated three-part strategy to block the sale of the clay
tablets, which date back to the Achamenid dynasty.
This strategy would, among other steps, include:
1) Legal assistance by filing "friends of
the court” briefs, supporting the University of Chicago’s and the Iranian
people’s right to retaining the
artifacts.
2) Grassroots pressure on the
Department of Justice to take appropriate action against the
auction.
3) Measures to solicit help from
friends in Congress who share the concern about the risks to American interests
and implications for international archeological security. Washington certainly
does not want other countries to take it to court and have its historical
artifacts confiscated.
