Destruction of Buddhist icons will continue: Taliban

KABUL, MARCH 5. The Taliban chief, Mulla Mohammad Omar, used the Id-ul-Adha festival today to urge the Muslim world to support the destruction of ancient Buddhist icons and unite behind his vision of Islam.

The reclusive war veteran and ``Islamic scholar'' said the annihilation of Buddhist statues in Afghanistan would proceed despite vehement international condemnation and protests from Islamic States.

He said the statues, including the giant ancient Buddhas in the central province of Bamiyan, were only ``one per cent'' of Afghanistan's historical heritage.

Mulla Omar also dismissed the global outcry as a ``drama'' which should be transparent to Muslims with ``common sense''. ``Now that we are destroying false idols, the world has made a drama out of this. The Muslims of the world, particularly Afghan Muslims, should use their commonsense,'' the Taliban militia's radio Shariat quoted him as saying.

``I would like to ask you, do you prefer to be called statue- destroyers or statue-sellers?'' Mulla Omar last week ordered his followers to destroy all statues in Afghanistan, including the country's precious pre-Islamic figures, to prevent idolatry in line with a fatwa (religious decree) from local clerics.

His comments at the start of the three-day Islamic holiday today came a day after the UNESCO special envoy, Mr. Pierre Lafrance, apparently failed to persuade the Afghan leadership to reverse their decision. The Afghan Foreign Minister, Mr. Wakil Ahmad Mutawakil, said that after meeting Mr. Lafrance in Kandahar on Sunday he could see no reason to stop the destruction, the private Afghan Islamic Press reported.

``I do not see any chance to change our decision and stop the demolition of these statues,'' he was quoted as saying. Governments across the globe, political and economic groupings such as the U.N. and the Group of Eight, and religious leaders including the Dalai Lama have appealed to the Taliban to rethink.

The Islamic world has also expressed its indignation, notably Pakistan, one of only three countries which recognises the Taliban regime and its closest ally.

But Mulla Omar, known as Amir-ul-Momenin (leader of the faithful) in Taliban circles, said the issue was clearcut and that Muslims should not be influenced by people of other faiths.

``I would like to ask the world Muslims not to harmonise their voices with those of non-believers,'' he said.

``The infidels want to rob Islam of its spirit.''

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