Taliban destroys most of Buddhist relics

KABUL, MARCH 3. Most of the ancient Buddhist relics, including the head and legs of two soaring statues of the Buddha in central Afghanistan, have been destroyed, despite international pleas to save them, a Taliban official said today.

``What hasn't been destroyed will be destroyed tomorrow and on Monday,'' the Information Minister, Mr. Quadratullah Jamal, said,``two-thirds of all the statues in Afghanistan have already been destroyed, the remaining will be destroyed in the next two days...''

``The head and legs of Buddha statues in Bamiyan were destroyed yesterday... Our soldiers are working hard to demolish their remaining parts. They will come down soon. We are using everything at our disposal to destroy them.''

The two Buddhas, 52.5 and 36 metres tall, are hewn from the side of a mountain in Bamiyan - located roughly 130 km northwest of Kabul. The tallest statue is considered the world's tallest of a Buddha standing rather than sitting.

The Taliban troops used heavy explosives and rockets to destroy the two statues which were already damaged by artillery fire during Afghanistan's protracted civil war.

Mr. Jamal said he was in contact with troops in Bamiyan and the destruction was being carried out in keeping with the fatwa of the Taliban's reclusive supreme leader Mullah Mohammed Omar.

Qatar's plea

Qatar appealed to the Taliban to stop destroying ancient statues that they deemed un-Islamic, the official news agency QNA reported. ``Qatar believes that these ancient monuments, regardless of their nature, belong to a common human heritage which must be protected, and appeals to (Muslim) brothers in Afghanistan to reconsider their decision,'' a Qatari Foreign Ministry official told QNA.

Dalai Lama `shocked'

The Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama, has expressed deep shock and concern over the destruction of the statues. In a statement in Dharamshala today, the Dalai Lama said, ``I am deeply concerned about the demolition of statues in Afghanistan at a time when there is close understanding and better harmony among different religious traditions of the world. It is unfortunate that these objects of worship are targets of destruction''.

The Kasag (cabinet) of the Tibetan government-in-exile also expressed concern.

- UNI, AP, Reuters

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