Interfering fire from Russia
Odessa makes it onto the Unesco World Heritage List
01/25/2023 8:46 p.m
The slander from Russia comes promptly: Ukraine has copied its application from Wikipedia and is responsible for the damage in the city itself. Unesco doesn’t listen and rushes to include the port city of Odessa on the World Heritage List.
The old town of the Ukrainian port city of Odessa is now considered an endangered world heritage site. “Odessa, a free city, a cosmopolitan city with a famous port that has shaped films, literature and the arts, is now under the increased protection of the international community,” said UNESCO Secretary-General Audrey Azoulay. Inclusion on the Unesco List of World Heritage in Danger means better access to technical and financial support.
Russia had tried in vain to prevent the Ukrainian city on the Black Sea from being included in the World Heritage List. The Russian representative emphasized that the application for admission was copied from Wikipedia. In addition, Ukraine itself destroyed buildings in Odessa. The city has been bombed several times since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression, but remained largely intact.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who requested the city’s listing in October to protect it from Russian attacks, welcomed the decision. “Today Odessa received UNESCO protection,” he said on Twitter. “I am grateful to the partners who are helping to protect our pearl from the attacks of the Russian invaders,” he added. “A diplomatic victory,” emphasized Ukrainian politician Emine Djeppar.
War Activates “Emergency Mechanism”
Unesco included the city in an “emergency mechanism” in view of the ongoing war. In addition to the old town of Odessa, the International Fair in Tripoli, Lebanon, and the landmarks of the ancient kingdom of Sheba in Yemen have also been included in the list of World Heritage in Danger.
The next meeting of the World Heritage Committee is scheduled for September 10-25, 2023 in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. There are currently 1157 cultural and natural sites in 167 countries on the UNESCO World Heritage List. 55 of them are considered threatened. Germany has 51 world heritage sites. Founded in 1794, Odessa developed into a commercial metropolis that attracted many people to the Black Sea coast. The multicultural heritage characterizes the architecture and the cityscape.