Paris, February 28 (No.2001-28) - Back in Paris from an official visit, UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura today described the decision to destroy all the statues of Afghanistan as “a real cultural disaster” and strongly urged the Afghan people to take action to prevent the destruction of this heritage which is valuable to all.

Mr Matsuura declared: “Carrying out this decision would be a real cultural disaster that will cause irreparable harm to a heritage of exceptional universal value. This heritage is central to Afghanistan’s memory and identity and is a landmark in the history of other civilizations.”

The Director-General added: “The blind destruction of statues will not change history, it will merely deprive Afghanistan in the future of one of its treasures. I strongly urge all concerned, primarily the Afghan people themselves, to spare no effort in saving this unique cultural heritage. The loss of the Afghan statues, and of the Buddhas of Bamiyan in particular, would be a loss for humanity as a whole.”

“The perpetrators of such an irreparable act would bear a heavy responsibility before the Afghan people and history,” he said, and concluded: “It is not by behaving in this way that they can hope to gain credibility with public opinion and the international community.”

The Director-General sent a telegram to Mullah Mohamed Omar, supreme leader of the Taliban, urging him to reconsider this decision.

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