Juma Joya
On March 9, 2001, the Taliban destroyed two Buddhist statues in Bamyan. The demolition of these two large Buddha statues provoked widespread international reactions at the time. But these reactions did not fill the void left by Bamiyan Buddha statues. The scars of this devastation will forever remain in the heart of history. The masterpiece of architecture and human genius of sculpture was destroyed forever. With this destruction, part of Afghanistan’s ancient history was razed to the ground forever. At the time, the Taliban were motivated by the destruction of Buddhist Buddhist statues in Bamiyan. In the previous period of their rule, they destroyed historical monuments related to other religions and denominations (other than Islam) to show that Islam is the supreme religion and their other religions and appearances are all false. The massacre of the people of Bamyan by the Taliban at that time was related to the same perception and belief of the Taliban. But the reality and depth of the motive for the destruction of the Bamyan Buddha told a different story. The role of the intelligence apparatus of a neighboring country in destroying Bamyan Buddhist statues was clearer than any other aspect. By using the Taliban, they destroyed part of Afghanistan’s cultural and historical history to show that Afghanistan has no historical or civilizational background and that a country without cultural history can be easily destroyed and digested.
In the latest case, with the presence of the Taliban and under the control of this group, excavations have been carried out around the ruined Buddha statues in Bamyan. There has been a lot of news about this recently; But the Taliban denied the news. Bari even visited the Bamyan Buddhist site in Bamyan and stressed the need to further strengthen historical sites, especially Bamyan Buddhist statues. But that was not the case, and excavations continued around Bamyan Buddha. The latest images that have been published in cyberspace show that a carving has been done behind the statue of Buddha Salsal and around Buddha Shahmameh. During the excavation, no one had the right to visit the Buddhist site in Bamyan, and no one knew the truth of the matter. But the presence of Taliban fighters in the area indicated that there was talk and work going on around Bamyan Buddhist statues.
The closed information space in Afghanistan has made it difficult to access the signs and evidence of this news. No media outlet has the right to photograph the historic Buddhist site in Bamyan, and Taliban officials in Bamyan are not willing to discuss the matter. The free access of the media to information is completely blocked and the space for freedom of expression has been destroyed. Criticism of the Taliban’s performance by citizens and the media is hostile to the group. No one and no media outlet can cover the Taliban’s shortcomings and anti-human rights practices in Afghanistan.
Although the Taliban’s operations are closely monitored by human rights organizations, Western countries and the United Nations; However, the free flow of information and the activities of the free media and the provision of civil and human rights for the Afghan people are still not under the control of the government of this group. The excavations around the Bamyan Buddha statues are done using the same situation. The motive and purpose of the Taliban group in this action is also clear. This time, the Taliban group is looking at the economic values of these monuments instead of destroying their historical and civilizational assets. They know that historical artifacts can be a source of income for them. Perhaps they wanted to hide their actions from the media and citizens; But citizens’ access to cyberspace robbed them of this opportunity. The news spread in cyberspace led to its documentation, and the images that are now available through cyberspace show that the news about the digging around the Bamyan Buddha is true and that nothing but economic and material motivation can force the Taliban to do so. Slowly
The Taliban are not alone in this kind of action. There are many hidden and visible groups behind this event. This may not be a big deal for the Taliban, and digging into a historic site may not be a big deal; But the fact is that the plunder of historical and cultural assets is no different from its destruction. This may not be the case, and the group seeks to preserve it by learning from their past practices in relation to historical and civilizational monuments, and the excavations around Bamiyan Buddhist statues may have been motivated by the achievement of The historical monuments of this group want to keep it in a safe place according to their own opinion. If this is the case, then the Taliban is wrong. This group should know that digging in an area of history requires specialized people. Experts are able to do this with the coordination and approval of UNESCO. UNESCO – if the historic site is registered – has the legal right to issue a permit for mining in historic sites.
The protection of Afghanistan’s historical and civilizational assets will reflect part of the Taliban’s goodwill towards Afghanistan’s history and people. The irresponsible and arbitrary behavior of the Taliban in this regard could have dire consequences for the Taliban worldwide. Historical and civilizational monuments of Afghanistan reflect the historical roots and background of Afghan civilization and its protection is the responsibility of all Afghan citizens. Understanding this issue, the Taliban can shine better in this regard.
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