March 6, 2001

DECRALATION:

Protest Firmly Against the Cruel Action and Request to Stop It Immediately.


The Most Rev. Tatsuo Miyake, Senior Chief Minister, and all the believers of Konko Church of Izuo protest firmly against demolition of the huge Buddha statues in Bamian, Afghanistan carried out by Islamic Taliban militia. We also demand the Taliban to stop this cruel action immediately at the same time we request the United Nations to convict the ringleaders at the international court.

It is natural that Muslims have the right to ban idolatry based on their confession of faith. However, it must not mean that they are entitled to destroy the object which other people worships, even if it is an "idol" that should be removed from the view point of the Muslim.

Today, all the nations and religions on this planet desire the peaceful coexistence, so, we cannot allow destruction by the Taliban because the Buddha statues in Bamian are precious cultural heritages for all the human beings not only for the Buddhist.

We demand Muslims in Afghanistan to regret deeply, and expect other Muslims with common sense in the world not to miss the Taliban's barbarous action. Considering such a situation, we request the U.N. and governments to make every effort to obstruct the Taliban to continue demolition.


The Most Rev. Tatsuo Miyake
Senior Chief Minister, Konko Church of Izuo
Honorary President, World Conference on Religion and Peace