A decision by Afghanistan's ruling Taliban militia to destroy two Buddhist
statues built into a cliff as much as 1,500 years ago is raising fears
of a
renewed wave of attacks by extremists on historic sites around the world.
Although such campaigns have occurred throughout history, the news from
Afghanistan has caught many in the archaeological community by surprise,
and
has them worried about ''copycat'' acts by other groups or governments
who
find out instantly what the Taliban is doing, thanks to global telecommunications.
''I consider this a new chapter in terrorism where instead of kidnapping
a
planeload of people, governments or groups increasingly decide to go after
cultural treasures,'' says Bonnie Burnham, president of the World Monuments
Fund, a non-profit group that preserves cultural sites.
Of immediate concern: attacks on mosques and other sacred sites in regions
that share Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim histories, as is the case in Afghanistan.
Taliban leaders vowed last week to destroy all statues in the country because,
they said, their Muslim religion prohibits worship of statues. Other Islamic
leaders say there is no need to destroy them.
The targets include a pair of ancient Buddhas in Bamiyan, about 100 miles
west of the capital, Kabul. One statue stands 175 feet tall; the other
120 feet.
They are the largest standing Buddhas in the world and were carved before
Islam spread to the region.
The Taliban's actions could inflame chronically tense relations between
majority Hindus
and minority Muslims in India, and between India and Muslim Pakistan.
Hindus have new reason to accuse Muslims of intolerance, says Adrian Karatnycky,
president of Freedom House, a non-profit organization that advocates democracy.
Already, protests have broken out in New Delhi and Calcutta.
Bhutan and Sri Lanka, where Buddhists account for about 70% of the
populations and Muslims are less than 10%, also could be hot spots, says
Mounir Bouchenaki, assistant director-general for culture at the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). ''We
are very worried about the potential for retaliation,'' he says.
A longer-term concern is that the Taliban's actions will inspire groups
to increasingly
target their enemies' icons in regions where there's already fighting or
unrest. Some may
be driven by the global attention such actions can bring to their causes.
Others may simply
copy what they see happening elsewhere. Such places include:
* Yugoslavia, where churches and historic structures have already been
targeted by all sides in the struggles among ethnic Serbs, Croats and Albanians.
* Indonesia, a majority Muslim nation, where ethnic Chinese and Christians
and their churches have come under frequent attacks.
* Egypt, where Coptic Christians have been victimized and seen their places
of worship attacked.
The potential losses go deeper than just damage to buildings and shrines.
''I encourage
people to think about their own communities and translate those feelings
to what's
happening in Afghanistan,'' Burnham says. ''I think, for instance, many
people would feel
deprived if the Golden Gate Bridge suddenly didn't exist anymore.''
For centuries, one society's icons have been targets for its enemies during
times of war.
In the past century, Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao all destroyed or damaged
historic
treasures and killed millions in attempts to wipe out entire cultures.
In Afghanistan, which is closed to Western media, the Taliban said it began
shelling the statues last weekend. They were about half destroyed when
a
temporary halt was ordered Monday for observance of the Muslim holiday
of
Eid al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice), which is expected to last until the
weekend, the militia said.
The Taliban's actions have been condemned around the world, including by the State Department.
Nancy Wilkie, president of the Archaeological Institute of America, says
she
is frustrated by a sense of helplessness: ''We cannot bring any public
opinion
to bear on the Taliban because they are excluded from the world scene.''
The Taliban has been ostracized by nearly all world governments because
it
has allowed alleged terrorist Osama bin Laden to live in the country. U.S.
authorities say bin Laden is behind several terrorist acts against Americans;
the most recent was last October's attack on the USS Cole.
The AIA, the World Monuments Fund, UNESCO and other organizations try
to call attention to cultural sites around the world that are in danger.
Each includes lists and articles about such sites on their Web sites. In
recent
years, most of their focus has been on the underground sale of billions
of
dollars of stolen artifacts each year. There's also been increasing concern
about the effects of pollution, neglect and urban sprawl on ancient sites.
There hasn't been much attention paid to threats from governments or
extremists since the 1960s, when China was destroying Buddhist monasteries
in Tibet. The planned destruction of the statues in Afghanistan has been
a
wake-up call, however. The preservationists now worry about what else
might be lost -- and grieve for what is apparently disappearing in Bamiyan.
''They were among the most stunning monuments I've ever seen,'' says James
Fisher, an anthropology professor at Carleton College in Northfield, Minn.
He
visited the site in 1968.
The statues loom over the desert. Their feet are as tall as an adult. ''Daunting
is a good word,'' Fisher says. ''They're so singular. It's not as if they
exist in
any other country. They're irreplaceable.''