””””KABUL, July 21 (Xinhuanet) -- About 30 pieces of Afghan antiques, belonging
to the Islamic period, have recently been confiscated bypolice on the road
between Kabul and Jalalabad when smugglers tried to take them abroad.
””””Other measures have also been taken by Afghan authorities to control the
rampant illegal excavation and smuggling of cultural relics in the country,
which is famous for its rich historical sites and cultural heritages.
””””Sayed M. Raheen, minister of information and culture visited Kapisa
Province, north of Kabul, last Friday to strengthen the crackdown on cultural
relics smuggling in the province.
””””During the Kushan empire about 1,800 years ago, Kapisa was the summer
capital of the kingdom. French archaeologists discovered a large number of
precious antiques in the area in 1930s. However, many historical sites were
looted during the wars.
””””"Things are in danger. Many of our monuments are in danger. We are losing
many things, if we don't take care of them quickly," the minister told Xinhua.
””””He seriously condemned such activities, saying that when someone sell the
ancient things, that means they sell their motherand sisters.
””””In Kapisa, some local farmers built houses on the historical sites and dug
into the ground secretly in the courtyard. Bricks ofancient buildings found by
the locals were used to build stairs and walls of their houses. And someone dug
tunnels underground to steal ancient things.
””””Many people want to get something and they have found gold coins and many
other things. Foreign smugglers provided the local people with maps for
excavation and offered money to buy the antiques.
””””The local people are so poor and hungry after the wars and theythink there
is no reason for them to resist the offer.
””””The governor of the province said two foreigners came here two years ago
and offered him one million US dollars to let them startexcavation in the area.
But he refused it.
””””Now the governor send police to check the houses built on the historical
sites every day to prevent illegal excavation. And according to him, the
smuggling situation in the province is undercontrol.
””””Raheen said thousands of pieces of Afghan antiques have been stolen and
hundreds of beautiful stolen pieces are now in the handof foreign countries.
””””"I have asked the members of UNESCO to prevent transportation of Afghan
cultural heritage in border areas of the world. And it has been approved by
UNESCO. We've started to campaign against smuggling. We don't know how it works.
Anyway it is the way to do it," said the minister. Enditem
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