dabong1
<b>PDF VETERAN</b>
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2006
- Messages
- 4,417
- Reaction score
- 1
NATO explosion damages Bamiyan Buddha
* Controlled explosion near statue causes cracks in structure
KABUL: The United Nations said it is investigating reports Saturday that a controlled explosion of old ordnance has caused more damage to the remains of one of the famed Bamiyan Buddha statues that were dynamited by the Taliban seven years ago.
Najibullah Harar, chief of information and culture for Bamiyan, said a blast conducted by NATO-led troops near the smaller of the two statues on Thursday had caused cracks in what is left of the 34.5-meter-high ancient structure. There are cracks in the statue and the side walls, and also continuously dust comes down from the side walls or the cracks that have been created after the explosion, he told The Associated Press by telephone from Bamiyan.
This is an illegal act against the historical heritage of Afghanistan. The two statues, chiselled about 400 meters apart into a cliff face also teeming with ancient cave shrines and paintings, were created about 1,500 years ago when Bamiyan was a major centre for Buddhism. The Taliban dynamited the Buddhas in March 2001, deeming them idolatrous.
Brendan J Cassar, chief of UNESCOs cultural programme in Afghanistan, which includes conservation of the World Heritage Site at Bamiyan, said the agency had yet to establish if the blast caused new damage. But he expressed concern about the incident.
We were not informed about the explosion that the PRT (NATO provincial reconstruction team) seems to have conducted, he said in Kabul. This is something we should be consulted on. UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said a rocket-propelled grenade and propellant had been found near the cliff face where the smaller Buddha once stood and shifted to another spot to be blown up.
The explosion was conducted in the presence of local police who had reported the initial find to locally deployed New Zealand troops and a UN-government project that destroys stockpiles of weapons left over from Afghanistans decades of war, he said. But there were widely differing accounts of how far the explosion happened from the 1,500-year old remains.
Harar said the blast happened between five and 10 meters away; the UN reported it went off about 100 meters away; NATO said it was more than one kilometre from the historic site.
There was no damage. The provincial governor and local authorities were all informed of the incident and of the plans (for the controlled explosion), said Maj Martin ODonnell, a spokesman in Kabul for NATOs International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
No controlled explosions should be taking place in the area. Even planes are not allowed to fly over the area. It is a World Heritage Site, Siddique said. Bamiyan is located in Afghanistans remote Central Highlands and it was not immediately possible to reconcile the varying information. ap
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
* Controlled explosion near statue causes cracks in structure
KABUL: The United Nations said it is investigating reports Saturday that a controlled explosion of old ordnance has caused more damage to the remains of one of the famed Bamiyan Buddha statues that were dynamited by the Taliban seven years ago.
Najibullah Harar, chief of information and culture for Bamiyan, said a blast conducted by NATO-led troops near the smaller of the two statues on Thursday had caused cracks in what is left of the 34.5-meter-high ancient structure. There are cracks in the statue and the side walls, and also continuously dust comes down from the side walls or the cracks that have been created after the explosion, he told The Associated Press by telephone from Bamiyan.
This is an illegal act against the historical heritage of Afghanistan. The two statues, chiselled about 400 meters apart into a cliff face also teeming with ancient cave shrines and paintings, were created about 1,500 years ago when Bamiyan was a major centre for Buddhism. The Taliban dynamited the Buddhas in March 2001, deeming them idolatrous.
Brendan J Cassar, chief of UNESCOs cultural programme in Afghanistan, which includes conservation of the World Heritage Site at Bamiyan, said the agency had yet to establish if the blast caused new damage. But he expressed concern about the incident.
We were not informed about the explosion that the PRT (NATO provincial reconstruction team) seems to have conducted, he said in Kabul. This is something we should be consulted on. UN spokesman Aleem Siddique said a rocket-propelled grenade and propellant had been found near the cliff face where the smaller Buddha once stood and shifted to another spot to be blown up.
The explosion was conducted in the presence of local police who had reported the initial find to locally deployed New Zealand troops and a UN-government project that destroys stockpiles of weapons left over from Afghanistans decades of war, he said. But there were widely differing accounts of how far the explosion happened from the 1,500-year old remains.
Harar said the blast happened between five and 10 meters away; the UN reported it went off about 100 meters away; NATO said it was more than one kilometre from the historic site.
There was no damage. The provincial governor and local authorities were all informed of the incident and of the plans (for the controlled explosion), said Maj Martin ODonnell, a spokesman in Kabul for NATOs International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.
No controlled explosions should be taking place in the area. Even planes are not allowed to fly over the area. It is a World Heritage Site, Siddique said. Bamiyan is located in Afghanistans remote Central Highlands and it was not immediately possible to reconcile the varying information. ap
Daily Times - Leading News Resource of Pakistan
