PRINCE SADRUDDIN STATUES IN AFGHANISTAN

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International Herald Tribune
> Thursday, March 1, 2001
>
>Regarding the report "Taleban to Destroy Buddhas" (Feb.27):
>I was distressed to learn that the Taleban rulers of Afghanistan
>had ordered the destruction of all statues, including the unique giant fifth century
>Buddhas located in Bamiyan.
> > >
> > > Like the Pharaonic monuments of Egypt, the Babylonian treasures
> > > of Iraq, the pre-Islamic masterpieces of Persepolis in Iran, the
> > > Greco-Roman temples and statues of the Northern and Eastern
> > > Mediterranean as well as the numerous Christian churches and
> > > monasteries, all of which lie in Muslim countries, the Bamiyan
> > > Buddhas are part of the artistic and cultural heritage of
>Afghanistan
> > > and of humanity as a whole. They must be preserved.
> > >
> > > Long before the Taleban seized power in Kabul, these statues
> > > stood at the crossroads of many faiths and civilizations nurtured
> > > by the Silk Road.
> > >
> > > How would Pakistan react if some cleric ordered the destruction
> > > of all the Indus Valley Gandhara Buddhas? The Taleban owes
> > > much to Pakistan. Pakistan should speak up together with other
> > > governments and international organizations like Unesco to
> > > condemn and prevent such acts of vandalism.
> > >
> > > SADRUDDIN AGA KHAN.
> > >
> > > Collonge-Bellerive, Switzerland.