Pan-African Parliament (PAP) President Calls for International Mobilisation to Preserve and Protect African Cultural Sites and Heritage

JOHANNESBURG, South-Africa, July 30, 2012/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The President of the Pan-African Parliament (PAP), Hon. Bethel Nnaemeka Amadi, MP, deplores the loathsome acts which are aimed at destroying preserved and protected cultural and religious sites in several towns in the north of Mali and in particular, in Timbuktu by armed groups.

The President recalls that these cultural sites, some of which feature among the World Heritage for Humankind, are the symbols of the vitality and wealth of the cultural and religious heritage of the African Continent. They belong not only to the people of Mali, but to Africa and humanity as a whole. These irreplaceable treasures must be preserved and protected for the benefit of generations yet unborn.

In this regard, the President of the PAP vehemently condemns these destructions which constitute blatant violations of the rights and respect of freedom of worship.

He therefore reiterates his total solidarity with the Malian people and the commitment of the PAP for the return of democratic order in the Republic of Mail. This commitment was exemplified by the recent fact finding mission of the PAP to Mali, led by the First Vice President, Hon. Roger Nkodo Dang, MP.

The President of the PAP thus calls for the mobilization of the International Community, and in particular, all the governments of African states in order to preserve and protect the African Cultural Heritage.