When Political Tensions Affect Cultural Issues

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The recent tension between Tehran and Britain over the loan of Cyrus Cylinder shows that the postelection unrest in Iran following the June’s presidential election is something beyond political issues and it has stretched into cultural aspects as well.

Following the refusal of the British Museum to lend Iran the Cyrus Cylinder, Iran says it will cut ties with the British Museum. Contradictory statements in this regard have put the whole situation in a state of ambiguity.  While Hamid Baghai, Director of Iran’s Cultural Heritage and Tourism Organization, has declared that since Cyrus Cylinder has not been transferred to Iran according to what was already agreed upon, Iran is going to submit a complaint to UNESCO against the British Museum and will cut ties with the Museum. The British Museum has expressed surprise with Iran’s decision and says it has already informed that the relic will go ahead to Iran during the middle of July.

While loaning the historic relics to be displayed in different countries has become one of the most cultural interactions between famous museums of the world especially during the past decade, and while we have witnessed the tour of ancient Persian relics in different countries during the past few years in an attempt to introduce the ancient civilization of Iran, such an action from both countries in this period of time reveals that the recent political turmoil in Iran has affected any aspect of Iran’s international approach even in cultural fields.

What is the most interesting in this regard is that while Iran is apparently debating over retrieving Cyrus Cylinder, which is known as the world oldest human rights document, the world have witnessed one of the worst human rights violations in the country during the past months. In releasing its 2010 world report on human rights abuses, Human Rights Watch has voiced its concern about human rights crisis in Iran. In their report, Human Rights Watch outlines several infractions in Iran’s human rights crisis.  In a recent joint announcement, the United States and European Union have also condemned Iran on its human rights.

The question is that in the current situation in Iran while the Islamic regime has put a large number of human rights activists, students, and journalists in jails just for demanding their very basic civil rights, does it make any sense to believe that the authorities of the regime are worried about the national rights of the Iranian people for transferring the Cyrus Cylinder to Iran?  All recent events indicate that even cultural issues are currently under the control of the Islamic government of Iran.

Considered as the world first declaration of human rights, the Cyrus Cylinder is a document issued by Cyrus the Great, the Persian Emperor, during Achaemenid era, following the conquest of Babylon in 539 BC, when Cyrus overthrew the Babylonian king and replaced him as ruler. It is a clay cylinder inscribed in the form of cuneiform scri pt. It describes how Cyrus improved the lives of the citizens of Babylonia, repatriated disabled people, and restored temples and cult sanctuaries. It also interpreted Cyrus’s respect for humanity, and as promoting a form of religious tolerance.

In 1971 the Cyrus Cylinder was described as the world first charter of human rights and was translated into all six official UN languages, and was kept in the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. The most tragic part is that today the condition of human rights in Iran, which according to this historic evidence was once the founder of human rights in the world is being condemned by the UN.     

During the past few years, a number of exhibitions of ancient Persian relics was held in different countries,  such as the exhibit of “Forgotten Empire, the World of Ancient Persia,” which was held in British Museum from September 2005 to January 2006 and attracted a large number of visitors.

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