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“We cannot let the initiative to the Islamic State; Italy is on the forefront of the struggle” – Mr. Marco Carnelos, the Italian Ambassador to Iraq, interviewed by Il Foglio.

More than 45.000 interventions in the field of consular protection, 5 evacuations of Italians abroad organized and carried out, 19 kidnappings managed, 3.000 research of missing nationals, almost 8.000 Italian language courses activated abroad: these are just some of the figures related to how Italian diplomacy delivered throughout the world in 2014. And all of this action has been possible thanks to a very limited share of funding, a mere 0.18% of the Italian budget expenses. The Eleventh Conference of Italian Ambassadors in the world did not address numbers alone though: it carried out a thorough discussion on the international projection of our country and its national interests, especially in relation to the increasing number of crises unfolding throughout the world, with a focus on the region that spans from East Mediterranean to Central Asia.

The Italian newspaper “Il Foglio” talked to the Italian Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Marco Carnelos, who serves in a war-torn country, where Italian commitment has a long history and comprises not only military assistance but also a cooperation in the civil and cultural domains. For months, the media have been broadcasting images about the destroyed churches of the Ninewa plain, or of the once-beautiful Museum in Mosul, the riches of which succumbed to the caterpillars of the jihadist militants of the so called Islamic State: “Videos about the destruction of the Mosul Museum, of Nirmod’s statues, of the wonderful city of Hatra leave few doubts on the significance of the losses occurred in northern Iraq” said Ambassador Carnelos. “What is really inadmissible, even beyond destruction itself, is the fanatics’ intention to disrupt the very foundations of that religious syncretism that was the fertilizer for the development of human civilization, by destroying the symbols of the ancient harmonic interaction among monotheistic religions – as the mosque of Nabi Yunus, that once rose up on the tomb of prophet Jonah.

“Quite paradoxically – Mr. Carnelos added – Dae’sh blows up cultural icons and does so by exploiting images; it sets up a narrative that abhors inter-cultural dialogue and mixture of civilizations. In order to overcome this folly it is imperative to establish a counter-narrative capable of engaging all the countries who are friends to Iraq, and Italy stands in the frontline in this effort”. The Italian Ambassador also added that “this struggle needs to be fought and won just as we must fight and win the ongoing military confrontation. That is why we need to be proud of the work carried out by our archaeologists and artefact-restorers, with the support of our Italian Development  Cooperation”.

‘Italy – further explains Mr. Carnelos – has a moral obligation towards Iraq in cooperating for the protection and the cultural and archaeological heritage of Mesopotamia, the very cradle of civilization. We are fulfilling such obligation as an authentic cultural superpower”.

Italy has donated remarkable resources since 2003 for the restoration of Iraq’s heritage, almost 13 million Euros. The alarm regarding the widespread destruction of the Assyrian artistic heritage was given by the University of Udine, and the Italian commitment consists of archaeological missions, artefacts and statues restorations following the destructions of 2003, efforts to get back to Iraq artefacts looted after the 2003 war and illegally trafficked outside the country. According to Ambassador Carnelos “today the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities values Italy as its first partner worldwide in this field of collaboration”.

Mr Carnelos adds that churches are among the buildings that badly need intervention: “The situation of the Christians who are living in Iraq is a very difficult one, and damages caused to the cultural heritage of the Church of the East are enormous, varying from very bad to irrecoverable”.  We still did not reach the point of no return, according to the Italian Ambassador. “We could soon get there if we cannot give leverage and effectiveness to the fight against Dae’sh”. Until now, the offensive by the International Coalition and the Iraqi Defence Forces has kept the jihadists from carrying out other heinous actions, such as further destroying the cultural heritage of the country. “That is why it is necessary to keep the pace and leave no margins of manoeuvre to the Islamic State. Every interval we concede them opens to the possibility of witnessing even more destructions and looting of sites of enormous value”.