the Archeological
Sites of Pasargad
International Committee to Save
the Archeological
Sites of Pasargad
Mr. Mounir Bouchenaki
The Assistant Director-General for Culture
UNESCO
7 Place de Fontenoy
75352 Paris 07 SP
France
Re: Pasargad Site in Iran
Dear Mr. Bouchenaki:
Thank you for your letter of December 8, 2005. I am a member of an ad-hoc committee that was formed by the initiatives of Ms. Mirzadegi and Dr. Nooriala to voice the concerns of the citizens world-wide for a potential catastrophe that is facing the Pasargad site in Iran. This committee is strictly apolitical and is formed based on humanistic and national aspirations of its members (www.savepasargad.com). I am sure that by now you have become familiar with the activities of this committee. Our activities are in line with the cultural appreciation awareness initiatives of UNESCO.
We are pleased to have learned that you are monitoring the situation relative to the Pasargad site and that you are in contact with the authorities in Iran. The Committee Members however feel that there are critical facets that are not reflected in your letter and thereby requesting your attention and clarification on the points addressed below.
At the time of the request to include Pasargad on the world heritage list, there was no information on the existence of other historical sites at Tange Bolaghi. Since then, there have been numerous discoveries in the greater Pasargad area, including Tange Bolaghi, that show remnants of cemeteries, villages, winery, etc. These new findings make the greater Pasargad area a potential candidate for inscription on the World Heritage list as well.
Furthermore, it is our understanding that based on the 1972 UNESCO Convention, all states, as members of UNESCO, are obliged to safeguard their national heritage sites regardless of whether the properties are enlisted as World Heritage sites or not. Based on the recent works and numerous articles by archeologists and engineers, we have come to a conclusion that due diligence was not exercised in the environmental impact study of the Sivan dam and the operational phase of this project may indeed catastrophically impact the greater Pasargad area.
We are seeking your help to stop this project for good or halt it indefinitely so that all angles of the projects are carefully considered and studied by internationally recognized specialists and scientists. Ms. Mirzadegi has proposed an ingenious plan to make halting of the project economically feasible for the Iranian government. We are hoping that since the new government in Iran had no apparent role in this ill-planned project, they would welcome such proposals and stop the project immediately.
We are also requesting a conference call with you and your staff to discuss our concerns and findings. You may either contact me or Ms. Mirzadegi through e-mail addresses to set this up. She and Dr. Nooriala are leading our worldwide efforts on this. Her mail address is shokoohmirzadegi@gmail.com. You may also contact me at Frank.yazdani@ndsu.edu.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. S. Yazdani
Committee Member
Reply to this letter by UNESCO's Cultural Section
