Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

Due to China investment, Taliban now preserve Buddhas + Ukrainian sites in ruins

#1
C C Offline
In pictures: The Ukrainian religious sites ruined by fighting
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60933862

INTRO: Ukraine has accused Russia of damaging or destroying at least 59 religious sites across the country since its invasion began. They include an Orthodox cathedral with its steeple ripped apart, a Jewish school struck by shelling, and parish churches left almost totally flattened. Targeting historic monuments and cultural heritage sites is a war crime under international law, according to the Hague Convention. Russia denies targeting civilian infrastructure, but the BBC has identified a number of religious sites that have suffered damage... (MORE - images, details)


With eye to China investment, Taliban now preserve Buddhas
https://religionnews.com/2022/03/28/with...e-buddhas/

INTRO: The ancient Buddha statues sit in serene meditation in the caves carved into the russet cliffs of rural Afghanistan. Hundreds of meters below lies what is believed to be the world’s largest deposit of copper.

Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers are pinning their hopes on Beijing to turn that rich vein into revenue to salvage the cash-starved country amid crippling international sanctions.

The fighters standing guard by the rocky hillside may once have considered destroying the terracotta Buddhas. Two decades ago when the Islamic hard-line Taliban were first in power, they sparked world outrage by blowing up gigantic Buddha statues in another part of the country, calling them pagan symbols that must be purged.

But now they are intent on preserving the relics of the Mes Aynak copper mine. Doing so is key to unlocking billions in Chinese investment, said Hakumullah Mubariz, the Taliban head of security at the site, peering into the remnants of a monastery built by first-century Buddhist monks.

“Protecting them is very important to us and the Chinese,” he said.

Previously, Mubariz commanded a Taliban combat unit in the surrounding mountains battling with U.S.-backed Afghan forces. When those troops capitulated last year, his men rushed to secure the site. “We knew it would be important for the country,” he said.

The Taliban’s spectacular reversal illustrates the powerful allure of Afghanistan’s untapped mining sector. Successive authorities have seen the country’s mineral riches, estimated to be worth $1 trillion, as the key to a prosperous future, but none have been able to develop them amid the continual war and violence. Now, multiple countries, including Iran, Russia and Turkey are looking to invest, filling the vacuum left in the wake of the chaotic U.S. withdrawal.

But Beijing is the most assertive. At Mes Aynak, it could become the first major power to take on a large-scale project in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, potentially redrawing Asia’s geopolitical map. (MORE - details)
Reply


Possibly Related Threads…
Thread Author Replies Views Last Post
  Article Who started calling school burial sites mass graves? (church vandalization in Canada) C C 1 86 Sep 6, 2023 09:36 PM
Last Post: Zinjanthropos
  Meditative practice and spiritual wellbeing may preserve cognitive function in aging C C 0 76 May 11, 2021 10:10 PM
Last Post: C C
  Iran & Saudi Arabia fight war of words over Muslim holy sites C C 2 659 Jul 21, 2018 07:46 AM
Last Post: C C



Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)