§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Minister for the Arts what information he has, pursuant to his oral answer of 18 February,Official Report, column 12, relating to the Kuwait museum of islamic antiquities, the museums and shrines of Najaf and Kerbaka, Babylon and Ur of the Chaldees, and the museum in Baghdad housing Sumerian antiquities.
§ Mr. RentonThe Office of Arts and Libraries has no responsibility for museums or religious and cultural sites in Iraq or Kuwait.
My answer of 18 February referred to the removal by Iraq of the contents of the Kuwait museum of Islamic antiquities. I have no information relating to the museums and shrines of Najaf and Kerbaka, Babylon and Ur of the Chaldes and the museum in Baghdad housing Sumerian antiquities. Newspaper reports have speculated about the possibility of damage being caused to cultural and religious sites in Iraq and Kuwait, but I have no means of substantiating these reports.