April 20, 2012
Yesterday, Bakir Hama Siddeeq, the Head of the Tourism and Archeology Committee in the Iraqi Parliament threatened to take the Iraqi Ministry of Oil to the Federal Court of Iraq to prevent the installation of an oil pipeline in the ancient city of Babylon.
Siddeeq told news agencies that the the parliamentary committee will sue the Ministry of Oil if it refuses to cancel the project. He also stated that the oil pipeline will destroy Babylon’s chances of being admitted to the UNESCO World Heritage List.
No clear response from the Ministry of Oil has been issued yet despite the fact that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki asked the Ministry to stay away from the ancient city of Babylon and change the path of the proposed oil pipeline.