Afghanistan Rejects Proposal to Save Buddha Idols

Voice of America, March 6, 2001

The leader of Afghanistan's ruling Taleban has turned down a compromise to save two giant statues of Buddha, which he ordered destroyed in the name of Islam.

The official Afghan Islamic Press quotes a Kabul diplomat as saying that Mullah Mohammad Omar rejected a proposal to build walls around the giant stone statues in order to save them.

An Afghan engineer proposed erecting walls to hide the statues, which tower 53 meters and 36 meters on mountain cliffs overlooking the central Bamiyan province, not far from the capital, Kabul.

The twin statues were made 1,500 years ago, before Islam existed, and are considered Afghanistan's most important archeological treasures. The Taleban leader ordered them demolished together with all other statues, calling them symbols of idol worship. He has ignored world-wide protests and appeals to reconsider.

Meanwhile, there are conflicting reports about the how much damage has been done to the Buddha statues. One report says more than half had been destroyed by shelling, but that demolition was halted until after the Muslim Eid festival. Another report suggests a three quarters of the statues remain, but destruction continues.

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