|
|
Rebuilding Bamiyan Buddhas
|
Rebuilding Bamiyan Buddhas
The United Nations cultural agency, Unesco, says it will convene a conference this year
to discuss the possible reconstruction of the giant Buddha statues at Bamiyan in central
Afghanistan. The meeting will take place in April or May.
The two great ancient statues - 53 meters and 38 meters tall respectively – were
Afghanistan's most important and best-loved historical monument. Carved into a sheer
cliff face about the fourth century AD when Afghanistan was a key link in the Silk Road
trade route, they were part of the cultural heritage of all Afghans - as well as a profitable
tourist attraction in the years before the Afghan war. The Taleban destroyed them last
year, causing an international outcry.
Paul Bucherer, a prominent Swiss specialist who has recently returned from examining
the ruins of the Buddha statues for the United Nations cultural organization, Unesco, said
that there is widespread support for restoring the Buddhas. He is one of the world's
foremost experts on the Bamiyan Buddhas and heads the Afghanistan Museum in
Bubendorf, Switzerland.
If the reconstruction is now to go ahead, the next step will be to create a scale model of
the larger Buddha, and to begin raising the necessary funds. The project could cost
between $30-50m - money which would be raised separately, and not be detracted from
any humanitarian funds sought for Afghanistan.
The decision to proceed would rest with the Afghan Government, but in meetings with
government officials and ordinary people alike in Afghanistan, widespread support was
found for the idea. Paul Bucherer said: "I did hear in my discussions with the top leaders,
as well as discussions in the bazaar with the common people that the reconstruction of
these statues is an absolute political priority for everyone in Afghanistan. He said their
reconstruction is a main concern of the interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai. (source:
AFP/BBC)
|
|
 |
|
