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Leading archaeologists to debate 'ethics' of Tara road
Irish Independent - Saturday June 07 2008
http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... 01303.html
A PRESTIGIOUS forum of the world's leading archaeologists is to debate the "ethics" surrounding a decision to build a motorway near the Hill of Tara.
In what could prove to be highly embarrassing for the Government, the World Archaeological Congress is to hold a public debate on whether a decision to run a motorway through one of the country's most sensitive archaeological sites was merited.
The M3 motorway is expected to be completed in two years. Since the final route was announced, academics worldwide and a group of campaigners living in the Tara Skryne Valley have criticised the decision.
The World Archaeological Congress will meet in Dublin from June 29 next.
http://www.ucd.ie/wac-6/index.html
http://www.worldarchaeologicalcongress. ... e/home.php
Archaeology event to discuss Tara
Irish Times - Breaking news: Last Updated: 06/06/2008 19:59
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/bre...breaking74.htm
The Hill of Tara will be debated by leaders in the world of archaeology at an international conference next month.
A round-table session in Dublin about the ethics of the construction of the controversial M3 motorway will form part of the Sixth World Archaeological Congress (WAC-6).
The non-governmental group - the only archaeological organisation with elected global representation - holds an international convention every four years to promote the exchange of archaeological research, professional training, and the conservation of archaeological sites.
The M3 Motorway/Hill of Tara will be one of two themes debated by the WAC Ethics Forum during the event at University College Dublin from June 29th to July 4th.
Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch, which will submit a position statement for the debate, said campaigners are delighted Tara will be addressed by an impartial international forum of this calibre.
“The Tara/M3 issue has received massive international attention . . . but the debate in Ireland itself has been very muted, especially within professional archaeological circles,” he said.
“This debate is going to be explosive, as there are a lot of reputations riding on this issue, and positions have become very entrenched on both sides."
Please sign the new Tara petition to UNESCO/ICOMOS and WAC-6
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savetara/index.html
[size=7]CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS[/size]
The Sixth World Archaeological Congress (WAC-6), will meet in Dublin from 29th June to 4th July, 2008, at University College Dublin, and will hold a round table session about the ethics of the Hill of Tara / M3 motorway issue. The World Archaeological Congress (WAC) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization and is the only archaeological organisation with elected global representation. WAC holds an international Congress every four years to promote the exchange of results from archaeological research; professional training and public education for disadvantaged nations, groups and communities; the empowerment and betterment of Indigenous groups and First Nations peoples; and the conservation of archaeological sites.
The co-organisers of the WAC Ethics Forum have selected the M3 Motorway/Hill of Tara “debate” as one of two themes to frame and discuss in public round table sessions. TaraWatch was informed yesterday by Dr Angela Labrador, Department of Anthropology, at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst, that WAC has identified them as a stakeholder for this debate. TaraWatch have been asked to submit a written position statement on the matter. This is part of the “Exploring WAC’s Approach(es) to Ethics Theme” sponsored by the WAC Standing Committee on Ethics.
WAC-6 attendees are visiting Tara and Navan Forth Armagh for the WAC-6 Mid-Congress Tours on Wednesday 2nd July Tour 3:
“Tara and Navan – Royal Landscapes Tara in Co. Meath is associated with the high kingship of Ireland in the early medieval period. Emain Macha or Navan in Co. Armagh is the ancient capital of Ulster. Both sites are characterised by a range of archaeological sites going back in date to the Neolithic, but with a major monumental focus on the later prehistoric period. Tara and Navan both have enduring symbolic importance in modern Ireland and have been at the centre of recent debates about the impact of development.”
TaraWatch received notification on Thursday 5th June, from the World Archaeological Congress (WAC), Committee on Ethics, that we had been recognised as stakeholders in the ongoing Hill of Tara / M3 issue for the upcoming Sixth World Archaeological Congress, (WAC-6) to be held at University College Dublin, from the 29th June to 4th July.
We would like to extend the invitation to the public, and are offering to submit individual and group submissions, on their behalf. WAC have approved this process, and are anxious to hear from all converned parties. Submissions need to be made as soon as possible.
WAC says it “seeks to promote interest in the past in all countries, to encourage the development of regionally-based histories and to foster international academic interaction. It is committed to the scientific investigation of the past, ethical archaeological practice and the protection of cultural heritage worldwide. It supports the empirical investigation and appreciation of the political contexts within which research is conducted and interpreted, and promotes dialogue and debate among advocates of different views of the past. WAC is committed to diversity and to redressing global inequities in archaeology through conferences, publications and scholarly programs. It has a special interest in protecting the cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples, minorities and economically disadvantaged countries, and encourages the participation of Indigenous peoples, researchers from economically disadvantaged countries and members of the public. Past Congresses have been held in England, Venezuela, India, South Africa and the USA. Patrons for past Congresses include Prince Charles (WAC-1), Nelson Mandela (WAC-4) and Harriet Fulbright (WAC-5). Selected papers from these conferences are published in the One World Archaeology Series.”
This is a massive boost for the Tara campaign, as it will be an opportunity for heritage experts and professionals from around the world will be looking at it from an objective and ethical standpoint. It is absolutely critical that this process is used to the utmost, to make the case for Tara, while there is still a whisper of time left to save it.
This notice is designed to share that news, and serve as a public consultation, under the laws principles and principles of UN Local Agenda 21, and sustainable development, which all public bodies, NGOs and stakeholders in the envionmental arena (including media outlets) are required to follow. Everyone has a stake in this issue, and a right to have their opinions heard. National surveys have shown that 70% of people want the M3 re-routed and an Irish Times survey showed that 82% of people surveyed think Tara should be a UNESCO site. Minister Gormley has responded that he will declare Tara a World Heritage Site, but with the motorway through it. We are campaigning to have UNESCO decline that offer, and insist that the M3 is re-routed first.
Given the enormity of the issue, and the multiple events that have occurred over the last ten years, in relation to this project, compiling a complete dossier is a mammoth task, particularly when laws like the World Heritage Convention and the National Monuments Acts are applied to those facts, in an attempt to formulate arguments that are coherent. Expert affidavits, and technical reports make the mater all the more challenging. We are lucky to be working with some heritage experts, in this regard, but we need all of the information available, and as much co-operative assistance as possible. Hopefully, like with our successful World Monuments Fund - 100 Most Endangered Sites List nomination, we will get the job done.http://wmf.org/watch2008/watch.php?id=S8351
Co-incidentally, TaraWatch launched an international online petition drive on Thur 5 June, asking UNESCO and ICOMS to intervene in the Hill of Tara issue. The petition is also addressed to “all those in attendance at WAC-6”. The petition states that it would be a breach of international law, for UNESCO and ICOMOS to declare the Hill of Tara a World Heritage site, with the M3 motorway being built through the middle of it. TaraWatch has agreed to participate in the forum. A comprehensive position statement is being prepared, with the co-operation of a number of historians, archaeologists and lawyers. The paper alleges that it would be a breach of professional ethics, as well as the World Heritage Convention, and other international charters, for UNESCO and ICOMOS to allow the M3 construction to proceed through the Tara landscape. It is of critical importance that the online petition receives as many signatures as possible, with as many comments as possible, from as many countries as possible, before the WAC-6 forum. Please do whatever you can to promote it.
The shortage of time in this matter is not our doing. We only received notice on Thursday June 5 that this issue would be raised and that we hold stakeholder status. Submissions need to be submitted in time for all the participants in the round table to have time to read and understand them - which is a week before the event, at a minimum. So, we are setting June 21, the Summer Solstice, as our date of submission. In order for us to process third party submissions, and integrate them into our own, we need to receive them at week before then, which brings us back to the 14th of June. So, we have a week to hear from as many people as possible. We are going to schedule a public event very shortly, which will explain the process in detail. In the meantime, there are a number of things you can do if you want to communicate your opinion on this matter to WAC-6, and indeed UNESCO and ICOMOS. If you prefer to stay anonymous, we will pass along the material as we are given it.
1. Please write a concise account of your opinions and/or experiences, in relation to this the Tara / M3 controversy.
Address issues such as:
- why do you consider yourself a stakeholder/ why is Tara important to you?
- what is wrong/right with the M3 motorway, in relation to Tara?
- is this an indigenous rights, religious, philosophical, environmental, political, moral, economic, practical issue for you?
- what specific experiences have you had in relaiton to Tara?
- what specific experiences have you had in relation the authorities?
- what laws do you think apply?
- what solutions are available?
- how did it come to all this?
2. Place your statement into the online petition, as a comment, or mail it to info@tarawatch.org
TaraWatch launched an online petition on Wednesday 4th June 2008, addressed to UNESCO, ICOMOS and WAC-6 attendees. It was designed as a method of trying to raise the Tara issue with the WAC-6 delegates, as we were unaware that we would be invited to make a submission. Now, that peition is going to serve as a key part of our submission. It makes it easy for people to participate, and make their views known.
3. If you feel you want to assist further, there are numerous ways:
- please forward this notice to anyone you think might be a stakeholder
- please forward the petition link to all your contacts
- install the new myspace SAVE TARA Cause on your page, and use it to add friends
http://www.causes.com/myspace/causes...ter_id=6916545
- install the new facebook SAVE TARA Cause on your page, and use it to add friends
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/827?...ter_id=6916545
- please try and attend the upcoming meeting, which will be noticed on TaraWatch.org
- there is a lot of work to be done compiling the full dossier. If you are interested in law, the environment, heritage, globalisation etc, and want to play a key role in making the case for Tara, on a world stage, please come and help us.
- please drop a line, and we’ll find something for you to do.
Go raibh maith agaibh and thanks for your support!
[size=7]PLEASE SIGN THE PETITION[/size]
PETITION TO UNESCO AND ICOMOS AND WAC-6 to save the Hill of Tara archaeological complex and cultural landscape from construction of the M3 motorway, in Ireland. http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savetara/index.html
THIS PETITION is addressed to:
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which includes:
- The Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura
- The Executive Committee of the General Conference
- The Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, called the World eritage Committee
- All parties in attendance at the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee, Quebec, Canada, 2-10 July 2008.
- The Irish UNESCO Representatives
AND
The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which includes:
- ICOMOS International http://www.icomos.org
- ICOMOS Ireland http://www.icomos.ie
- All other national ICOMOS bodies, such as ICOMOS Canada, UK, US, Australia, Norway, and Aotearoa/New Zealand
- All parties in attendance at the ICOMOS Ireland AGM, Dublin, 4 June 2008
- All parties in attendance at the Sixth World Archaeological Congress, University College Dublin, 29th June to 4th July 2008
WHOSE JURISDICTIONS have been jointly invoked in this matter of great national and international importance by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local overnment, of the Republic of Ireland, John Gormley, on 11 May, 2008, in his address at the launch of the legal incorporation and charitable status designation of ICOMOS Ireland. He announced that he had retained an ICOMOS member, Dr Jukka Jokilehto to visit the sites currently on Ireland’s tentative list, as well as the Hill of Tara. Minister Gormley concluded:
- "The Hill of Tara National Monument has strong merit for inclusion in an application to UNESCO for consideration as a World Heritage Site" and that he did "... not see the proposed new road (the M3 motorway) as being an obstacle to making this recommendation." http://www.environ.ie/en/Heritage/Ar...y,17071,en.htm
I EARNESTLY AND RESPECTFULLY PLEAD THAT:
I. The Hill of Tara archaeological complex / cultural and natural landscape, in it's entirety, be inscribed onto the UNESCO List of World Heritage sites.
BUT ONLY on condition that:
II. The proposed M3 motorway, currently under construction, is re-routed beyond Tara, before the site is given World Heritage Site status, because he M3 is destroying the integrity of the site and landscape.
I MAKE THIS PETITION FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:
- UNESCO adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1972. Ireland ratified the Convention in 1991. The Convention has as its goal the identification and protection of cultural and national heritage of "outstanding universal value".
- The Hill of Tara complex qualifies as a natural and cultural landscape of outstanding universal value, due to it's unique cultural significance, and the extent of the surviving remains. Tara covers a much larger area than that the 100 acres of State-owned land on the summit of the Hill, which currently delimits the 'national monument'. The M3 passes through the middle of the area to be protected.
- The entire Tara archaeological complex and cultural/natural landscape should be declared a World Heritage site. Expert bodies, such as the Heritage Council, have recognised Tara consists of the entire Hill of Tara along with the Tara / Skryne valley, as well as the defensive forts that encircle the hill, including national monuments such as the defensive forts of Rath Lugh (to the east), Rath Miles (to the north) and Ringlestown Rath (to the west).
- Ireland has been in breach of the Convention since 1991, by failing to nominate the Hill of Tara to be a World Heritage site, until after the M3 motorway was approved. Article 3 of the Convention states:
"It is for each State Party to this Convention to identify and delineate the different properties situated on its territory".
A recent UN report on Ireland's implementation of the Convention found that "Inventories, established at national and local levels, have not been used as a basis for selecting World Heritage sites". http://whc.unesco.org/archive/period...summary-en.pdf
This has resulted in the contradictory approach being taken by the Irish Government, which is on one hand facilitating destruction of significant parts of the Tara complex, and on the other, seeking International legal protection for those same parts.
- The Minister for the Environment, has breached his responsibilities under the Convention by initiating the inscription process of making Tara a World Heritage site, while at the same time, failing in his legal duty adequately protect the Tara complex from the immient threat of the M3 motorway. John Gormley, said in a department press release, 11 April 2008, that he did not see M3 motorway preventing the Hill of Tara from being nominated as a world heritage site. He said his department had engaged Dr Jukka Jokilehto, a member of ICOMOS to visit Tara and issue a report on it. It is these statements and actions, as well as other failures to act, that have invoked the jurisdiction of international law.
- ICOMOS is an international non-governmental organization of professionals, dedicated to the conservation of the world's historic monuments and sites, and is an official Advisory Body to UNESCO, for purposes of implementing the World Heritage Convention. Both UNESCO and ICOMOS would also be in breach of the Convention by accepting the Minister's nomination of the Tara archaeological complex and cultural/natural landscape, without insisting that the M3 motorway is rerouted, while it still can be.
- National survey's have shown that 70% of Irish people want the M3 rerouted and an Irish Times online survey showed that 82% of people want Tara declared a UNESCO site.
- The World Monuments Fund have placed the Hill of Tara on the 2008 List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.
SIGNED
_______________________________
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/s...ignatures.html
Published by TaraWatch, 4 June 2008 in accordance with laws and priciples set out in:
http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/docume...da21/index.htm
http://www.tarawatch.org
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