-Caveat Lector- Ancient Afghan statues destroyed, aid workers say Protesters on hand as U.N. leader visits Pakistan By KATHY GANNON, Associated Press ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (March 11, 2001 9:42 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - The Taliban religious militia has completely demolished two giant statues of Buddha hewn from a cliff face in central Afghanistan, international aid workers said Sunday. Desperate pleas from abroad to spare the third- and fifth-century relics were fruitless. The destruction was ordered late last month by the Taliban, hardline Muslims who rule about 95 percent of Afghanistan and say statues are idolatrous. Despite the international outcry, the Taliban appeared Sunday to have carried out their plan. Taliban Foreign Minister Wakil Ahmed Muttawakil told U.N. Secretary- General Kofi Annan during a meeting Sunday in neighboring Pakistan that there was nothing left of the statues, according to an international aid worker who attended the talks. The destruction was corroborated by Taliban officials in southern Afghanistan and by an aid worker who said his information came from Afghan witnesses in the area. It has been impossible to verify the reports independently because the Taliban have refused to allow anyone in the Bamiyan Valley area, where the statues stood. On Saturday, the Taliban had said the statues, measuring 170 feet and 120 feet, were 80 percent destroyed. Abdul Hai Muttmain, a spokesman for the Taliban's reclusive leader, told The Associated Press that delegations pleading for preservation were too late: The statues were almost gone. "Everyone who is coming now is too late. We have destroyed 80 percent of the statues. There is only a small amount left and we will destroy that soon," Muttmain said. Upon his arrival in Pakistan on Saturday, Annan said he would convey the world's outrage at the destruction. By Sunday, it appeared to be too late. Relations between the United Nations and the Taliban have never been good, and they have worsened with fresh sanctions imposed in January to press for the extradition of suspected terrorist Osama bin Laden. The Taliban have refused to hand him over. Now, the outcry to save the two giant Buddhas has spread worldwide. Predominantly Buddhist nations like Japan and Sri Lanka have made pleas. The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) sent a special envoy from Paris, Pierre Lafrance, to try to get the Taliban to rescind their order. The Taliban's Radio Shariat on Saturday said there would be no change to the order. The statues violate the tenets of Islam as laid out in the Quran, the Muslim holy book, the broadcast said. Islamic nations also expressed their outrage at the destruction. Egypt sent its chief Muslim cleric Grand Mufti Nasr Farid Wasel to Afghanistan to appeal to the Taliban to change their order. On Sunday, a Taliban official in Pakistan who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Islamic world had simply waited too long. ANOMALOUS IMAGES AND UFO FILES http://www.anomalous-images.com <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
