Iraq library director: troops must leave By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer

Iraq library director: troops must leave By KIM GAMEL, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 20 minutes ago



BAGHDAD - The director of Iraq's National Library appealed Thursday for troops to keep the institution's books and archives out of the fight, warning their recent security moves had put one of the nation's most important cultural facilities at risk.

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Saad Eskander, who has overseen the restoration of the library after it was burned and looted following the 2003 invasion, claimed that U.S. and Iraqi soldiers forcibly entered the three-story building earlier this week as part of security preparations for a major Shiite pilgrimage.

It is not uncommon for forces to temporarily commandeer houses and buildings as rest stops or lookout posts. But Eskander said the library and archives should be declared off-limits since it is a repository for the national heritage.

The presence of foreign forces in the building could make it a target for insurgents, he said. He noted that the library's collection had not suffered any damage, but said he holds U.S. and Iraqi forces "responsible for any damage inflicted on priceless documents or any human casualties due to this illegal operation."

"Any damage or theft will represent a cultural catastrophe along the lines of the looting of the Iraqi Museum after the fall of Baghdad in 2003," he added.

The U.S. military said it was looking into Eskander's claims. The Iraqi Defense Ministry declined to comment.

The library is in central Baghdad, near three neighborhoods notorious for Sunni insurgent attacks, kidnappings and late-night murders. Stray bullets frequently hit the building. Mortar shells land in the front court. Fighting sometimes forces Eskander to close the library. One closure last year lasted two weeks.

Eskander, speaking by telephone from his home, said the library's security guards reported that troops broke window and gates. Eskander said he spoke to the Iraqi commander on the phone and asked him to vacate the building, but the request was refused.

U.S. troops also entered the building without permission on Monday, he claimed.

The security clampdown for the Shiite pilgrimage included a three-day curfew that began Wednesday.

The library and another cultural landmark, the National Museum, were overrun by looters in the chaos after U.S.-led forced entered Baghdad on April 9, 2003. Many of the museum's treasures have been returned, but it remains shut for security reasons.

Eskander, who holds a British passport and writes a journal in English that is published on several Web sites, has repaired the damage, established computer and book restoration departments and made the collection accessible to the public.

Eskander also has support from the British Library, which publishes his journal.

"He has sought to position his institution as a neutral or secular place," said Andy Stephens, the British Library's board secretary. "Our concern is that an institution like the library so fundamentally holds the memory of the nation that it's really important that it shouldn't be put at risk."

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Associated Press writer Sameer N. Yacoub in Baghdad contributed to this report.