One can only hope...

Posted by Fall Guy from pool1150.cvx21-bradley.dialup.earthlink.net on March 26, 2001 at 20:18:15:

In Reply to: Latest from the AIA about the Taliban posted by Anejo Joe on March 26, 2001 at 17:51:10:

... that at least a few pieces were smuggled out and sold off. That would be dificult with larger objects, but people have the tendency to be greedy. Maybe not everything was destroyed. That's idle speculation, eh? :|
FG

: KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers threw open the doors to the National Museum in Kabul on Thursday to prove they had carried out their vow to destroy all the statues that were once at the heart of the collection. Reporters were allowed to tour the museum for an hour.

: Inside the dark and largely destroyed building that once housed the
: country's finest archaeological collection, there was no sign of anything that could violate the Taliban ban on the “un-Islamic” practice of portraying animate objects.

: A blank space against a dusty wall was all that remained at the spot where a life-size statue from the country's Buddhist period of 1,500 years ago had stood when the museum was opened for 24 hours last August.

: One room held a wooden screen that showed small birds -- the nearest thing spotted to a violation of the Taliban's ban. But the head of each bird had been carefully chiseled away.

: Other Buddhist Relics Retained “If it doesn't touch our religion we will keep it,” the head of the museum, Ahmad Yar, told reporters. “We have good pieces from the era of the Buddhists but not statues.”

: Guides from the government opened rooms with a few Islamic artifacts and shone lanterns -- there is no electricity -- among rooms full of ancient pottery shards stored in the basement.

: One shelf was marked “figurines” from Balkh, the ancient city Alexander the Great conquered, but there was no sign of any. A table near the entrance had been covered with wooden bowls in anticipation of the visit, a guide said.

: Museum staff said about 40 statutes had been destroyed following Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar's order last month to eradicate what the movement considers pagan idols.

: All had been smashed inside the closed museum but there was no trace of the rubble.

: “There is no one person,” Yar said when asked who had carried out the
: destruction. “When there is an edict responsible people come here and do the job. There is no question.”

: The Taliban agreed to open the museum after refusing permission for journalists to visit Bamiyan, where the hardline Islamic movement has
: destroyed two colossal Buddhas -- the most famous ancient treasures in
: Afghanistan.

: The edict to destroy the statues has triggered outrage around the
: world. Some are angered at the attack on the rich heritage of a country that sat astride Asia's Silk Route, others at the focus on destroying statues that date from the pre-Islamic era when Afghanistan was a center of Buddhist study and pilgrimage.

: “Still A Rich And Islamic Museum”

: “It is still a rich and Islamic museum,” said Yar, sounding slightly
: defensive as he emphasized that he was out of Afghanistan in the period after Omar's edict when the destruction is supposed to have taken place.

: Taliban officials denied a report by a group of Pakistan-based ambassadors representing the UN cultural agency UNESCO that the attack on the statues was already underway in the two months before the edict.

: The Taliban destruction followed years of damage to the museum in earlier phases of Afghanistan's 21 years of war.

: The second floor of the building, built in the 1960s, has been completely shattered. A gaping rocket hole tore open one of the few rooms with a roof. Yar said only 30,000 of the 100,000 artifacts recorded by the museum over the years still exist, with most either looted or destroyed. The museum once held a priceless collection of coins, many dating from the kingdoms ruled by the successors of Alexander the Great -- whose faces on coins would violate the Taliban edict.

: Most of the surviving treasures are not in the museum's cluttered
: basement, but the museum director would not say where they have been
: stored. “We have kept it somewhere to save it,” was all he said.
:
:

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: ... that at least a few pieces were smuggled out and sold off. That would be dificult with larger objects, but people have the tendency to be greedy. Maybe not everything was destroyed. That's idle speculation, eh? :|
: FG

: : KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan's Taliban rulers threw open the doors to the National Museum in Kabul on Thursday to prove they had carried out their vow to destroy all the statues that were once at the heart of the collection. Reporters were allowed to tour the museum for an hour.

: : Inside the dark and largely destroyed building that once housed the
: : country's finest archaeological collection, there was no sign of anything that could violate the Taliban ban on the “un-Islamic” practice of portraying animate objects.

: : A blank space against a dusty wall was all that remained at the spot where a life-size statue from the country's Buddhist period of 1,500 years ago had stood when the museum was opened for 24 hours last August.

: : One room held a wooden screen that showed small birds -- the nearest thing spotted to a violation of the Taliban's ban. But the head of each bird had been carefully chiseled away.

: : Other Buddhist Relics Retained “If it doesn't touch our religion we will keep it,” the head of the museum, Ahmad Yar, told reporters. “We have good pieces from the era of the Buddhists but not statues.”

: : Guides from the government opened rooms with a few Islamic artifacts and shone lanterns -- there is no electricity -- among rooms full of ancient pottery shards stored in the basement.

: : One shelf was marked “figurines” from Balkh, the ancient city Alexander the Great conquered, but there was no sign of any. A table near the entrance had been covered with wooden bowls in anticipation of the visit, a guide said.

: : Museum staff said about 40 statutes had been destroyed following Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar's order last month to eradicate what the movement considers pagan idols.

: : All had been smashed inside the closed museum but there was no trace of the rubble.

: : “There is no one person,” Yar said when asked who had carried out the
: : destruction. “When there is an edict responsible people come here and do the job. There is no question.”

: : The Taliban agreed to open the museum after refusing permission for journalists to visit Bamiyan, where the hardline Islamic movement has
: : destroyed two colossal Buddhas -- the most famous ancient treasures in
: : Afghanistan.

: : The edict to destroy the statues has triggered outrage around the
: : world. Some are angered at the attack on the rich heritage of a country that sat astride Asia's Silk Route, others at the focus on destroying statues that date from the pre-Islamic era when Afghanistan was a center of Buddhist study and pilgrimage.

: : “Still A Rich And Islamic Museum”

: : “It is still a rich and Islamic museum,” said Yar, sounding slightly
: : defensive as he emphasized that he was out of Afghanistan in the period after Omar's edict when the destruction is supposed to have taken place.

: : Taliban officials denied a report by a group of Pakistan-based ambassadors representing the UN cultural agency UNESCO that the attack on the statues was already underway in the two months before the edict.

: : The Taliban destruction followed years of damage to the museum in earlier phases of Afghanistan's 21 years of war.

: : The second floor of the building, built in the 1960s, has been completely shattered. A gaping rocket hole tore open one of the few rooms with a roof. Yar said only 30,000 of the 100,000 artifacts recorded by the museum over the years still exist, with most either looted or destroyed. The museum once held a priceless collection of coins, many dating from the kingdoms ruled by the successors of Alexander the Great -- whose faces on coins would violate the Taliban edict.

: : Most of the surviving treasures are not in the museum's cluttered
: : basement, but the museum director would not say where they have been
: : stored. “We have kept it somewhere to save it,” was all he said. 
: :
: :

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