My two cents....

Religious dictatorships, like secular ones, reserve unto themselves the
right to change history, ibncluding eradication of the past. Some of you
might be interested in the Buddhist wars on the Indian subcontinent that
eradicated many ancient Hindu and indigenous religions.

John Dendy

> -----Original Message-----
> From: MacLeod, Heather [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Thursday, March 01, 2001 11:47 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      Afghanistan's statues
>
> As a group concerned with material culture - what are the thoughts of the
> HISTARCH audience members on the state of affairs in Afghanistan regarding
> the Taliban's destruction of the Buddha statues?  Here's a web address for
> today's news (Thursday March 1st)
> http://www.infoculture.cbc.ca/archives/misc/misc_03012001_buddhas.phtml
> that discusses the issue.
> Are there any comments or opinions on what may be the responsibilities of
> the international cultural heritage community?
> Just curious and thought this may be a good place to hear some debate
> about
> it from an informed audience.
> Cheers,
> Heather