This week marks the 11th anniversary of the destruction of Bamyan Buddha statues by Taliban. It was at the cost of the destruction of the two giant statues that the world was alerted of the horrible brutalities of Taliban regime. They not only redefined brutality by committing a war against human civilization by destroying the centuries old largest Buddha statues in the World, but also about 80 per cent of the National Museum of Afghanistan objects were looted and destroyed by Taliban. The two monumental statues had stood for one and a half millennia as proud testimonies to the greatness of our shared humanity.

Eleven years ago on February 26, 2001 when Mullah Muhammad Omar, the Amirulmomaneen of Taliban ordered the destruction of the giant Buddha statues and the world, including the United Nations, watched helplessly when a week after the order, the forces of darkness started planting bombers on March 09, after Friday Prayers. They arrested some local people and forcefully tied bombs to their waists, lowered them from the roof of the statues to plant bombs in the holes of the standing face and body of the Buddha statues. And then the world saw on their TV screens a week later when the footage of the blast was shown.

This first week of March marks a week of cultural mourning for Afghanistan and the world. We remember the crimes committed by those who claimed to serve Islam with their brutal brand of Sharia, of which Bamyan Buddha statues was a single victim. Not only that, the same day many other less-known Buddha statues were destroyed in other parts of the country including one in another district of Bamyan and one in Ghazni province. We mourn the day when our cultural and historical heritage of 1000 years was destroyed in some days. According to local legend, it took each Buddha statue to be built in one hundred years, and Taliban destroyed them in one day!

The UN has been marking the day of our cultural mourning in Afghanistan with typical statements each year, but not very serious and decisive practical efforts to rebuild the Buddha statues.
Last year some German scientists had said that it is possible to reconstruct one of the statues. Scientists from the University of Munich said the smaller one of the world's largest Buddha statues now-destroyed could be pieced together. The United Nations should make efforts for the rebuilding of the statues.