National Iranian American Council (NIAC) has posted the following:
A Senate
committee voted yesterday to make it easier for individuals to seize and auction
off priceless ancient Persian antiquities held by American museums and
universities in order to collect court judgments against the Iranian government.
Already, lawyers are in court trying to seize the Persepolis Tablets – priceless
2,500 year-old artifacts that provide a unique first-hand account of life in
the Persian Empire under Darius the Great.
If this proposal becomes law, the Persepolis Tablets are almost certain
to be confiscated from the universities and museums and sold to the highest bidders.
The Persepolis Tablets are a part of our rich heritage that should
continue to be shared at museums and universities, not auctioned off like cheap
items on eBay.
Take
action now to protect our heritage!
This
proposal by Senator Menendez (D-NJ) will soon be considered by the full Senate as
part of its latest Iran sanctions bill – which builds on the broad Central Bank
of Iran sanctions spearheaded by Senator Menendez just last December.
This is perhaps one of the starkest examples yet of how broad sanctions punish
ordinary Iranians and Iranian Americans, not the Iranian government.
With the Iranian people facing
unprecedented repression at home and economic warfare from abroad, we must
stand united against collective punishment and the looting of our very
heritage.
The Iranian government has harmed many
innocent lives, and its victims should receive just compensation. But we
must be able to protect the rights of victims without attacking our Iranian
heritage.
Take
action now to stop Congress from looting our history!
NIAC has led the Iranian-American
community’s efforts to protect the Tablets, fighting in the courts, the
Congress, and even the White House to protect them. In order to permanently
secure these and all other priceless Persian artifacts under threat, NIAC has
called on Congress to change the law to protect all cultural artifacts held by
American museums and universities so our heritage will never again come under
attack
Persepolis in Pleiades http://pleiades.stoa.org/places/922695
