HISTORIC TRIAL: International Criminal Court sends strong message by sentencing terrorist over Timbuktu destruction
THE conviction of Ahmad al-Faqi al-Mahdi of the Ansar Dine terrorist militia last month by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague on charges of cultural destruction during the group’s occupation in June and July 2012 of the ancient city of Timbuktu, Mali, including nine mausoleums and a mosque, may yet turn to be a watershed for the ICC.
One could forgive ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda for his euphoria over “this historic trial”, but it is a sad reflection of both the ICC and international community that this is the first time that the court has tried a case of cultural destruction — effectively war crimes against the destruction of historical buildings, manuscripts and other such heritage.
The last few decades have borne witness to the wanton destruction of heritage by a cornucopia of zealots, whether in Afghanistan, Palmyra in Syria, Iraq, Timbuktu, Pakistan, Yemen, Libya or Lebanon.
“It is more historic in view of the destructive rage that marks our times, in which humanity’s common heritage is subject to repeated and planned ravages by individuals and groups, whose goal is to eradicate any representation of a world that differs from theirs by eliminating the physical manifestations that are at the heart of communities. The differences and values of these communities are, thus, simply denied and annihilated,” said Bensouda in his opening statement at the trial.
Of course, cultural terrorism (for this is what it comes down to) is not confined to Muslim conflict countries, but also others where it is very often disguised under cultural assimilation policies, ethnic cleansing and sheer political revenge.
Cultural destruction, unfortunately, was not clearly defined in the court documents in The Hague. In the case of al-Mahdi, known by his nom de guerre “Abou Tourab”, a so-called religious scholar and a member of Ansar Dine, a Tuareg extremist militia with close links to al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, it was for his role as leader of its Hisbah (Morality) Brigade in directing members to destroy 10 historic and religious buildings “of immeasurable value” — all but one inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s (Unesco) World Heritage List.
The buildings comprised mausoleums (the burial places of local saints) — kramats — mosques, libraries and other cultural heritage sites, including mausoleums dedicated to Sidi Mahamoud Ben Omar Mohamed Aquit and Cheick Sidi Ahmed Ben Amar Arragadi, two Muslim sages who lived in the 16th and 18th centuries in Timbuktu.
These mausoleums are anathema to the ultra-conservative Salafist Ansar Dine, which forcibly imposed its ideology on a hapless local population that was powerless to do anything. It took a French expeditionary force to expel and defeat the Ansar Dine militia.
The evidence against al-Mahdi is overwhelming since he personally directed and oversaw the attack against the 10 buildings in question. Under the Statute of Rome, according to the ICC, the intentional destruction of historic monuments and buildings dedicated to religion constitutes a war crime, duly punishable with a maximum sentence of up to 30 years.
The only redeeming aspect of this sordid saga is that al-Mahdi pleaded guilty (the first time this has happened in a trial at the ICC) and expressed remorse over his actions.
“I am really sorry… and remorseful, and I regret all the damage that my actions have caused. I would like to give a piece of advice to all Muslims in the world — not to get involved in the same acts I got involved in because they are not going to lead to any good for humanity,” he said at the trial.
Timbuktu has been a seat of Islamic learning going back to the 13th century. Its famous library, three mosques and 16 cemeteries, a Unesco World Heritage site, housed more than 700,000 books on theology, law, literature and science, very often surviving in public libraries and private collections.
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Timbuktu became a regional centre of economic activity and trade, and blossomed into one of Africa’s most vibrant intellectual and spiritual capitals. It also played an essential role in the expansion of Islam in Africa and in the history of Africa itself. The city was also known for its education and tradition of Islamic calligraphy, where enlightenment was nurtured for the benefit of generations of students, attracting scholars from all over.
When Ansar Dine burnt down two of the historical libraries during the siege of Timbuktu, it was feared that many historical manuscripts were lost. But, thanks to the foresight and bravery of local scions, such as Dr Abdel Kader Haidara, owner of one of Timbuktu’s biggest private libraries, calligrapher Boubacar Sidiki and others, many of the manuscripts were saved simply because they had been moved earlier to safe houses within the community and in other cities, and the damage caused by the fires was contained.
The act of cultural destruction, unfortunately, is not confined to extremist militia or terrorist groups. States or state actors, too, can perpetrate acts of cultural destruction and vandalism.
Take, for instance, the town of Zvornik in the former Yugoslavia. During the Bosnian civil war, the Serbs destroyed five mosques in the town. Later, the mayor of the overrun town proclaimed that there “were never any mosques in Zvornik”.
Similarly, there was the wanton destruction by Daesh (the Islamic State) of Palmyra only two months ago, and several mausoleums in Baghdad and Iraq.
The antics of al-Mahdi and his gang have had unfortunate unintended consequences for the conservation of Timbuktu’s cultural heritage. The incident, together with the global financial crisis and a change in government, for instance, put paid to any revival of the South Africa-Mali cooperation on the Timbuktu Manuscripts Project, an initiative of then president Thabo Mbeki, who had a vision of a great new Library of Timbuktu, housing historical manuscripts as a living manifestation of an African Renaissance.
The project was funded by the South African government with a 30 million rand (RM8.5 million) grant and complemented by private sector donors, including mining companies and banks. According to project director Dr Shamil Jeppie, after Mbeki’s ousting from office and the election of President Jacob Zuma, there was a general withdrawal from engagement with the African continent.
But, alas, after the opening of the Grand Timbuktu Library in January 2009, the project was unceremoniously discontinued.
The most disconcerting aspect of this irrational war on heritage is that the very act of deliberate attacks on cultural property has now become weapons of war, just as rape and violence against women also have.
It is the duty of every thinking and rational person to be the gatekeeper of heritage, whose preservation is a universal human right. Islam, for instance, precisely forbids the destruction of natural resources and heritage, especially during war.
As for Timbuktu, its heritage sites are not only Mali’s or Africa’s, but also the world’s!
Mushtak Parker is an independent London-based economist and writer. He can be reached via mushtakparker@yahoo.co.uk