Bamiyan background

[rohan.oberoi at CORNELL.EDU]

Since there seems to be a feeling here (ref. Tina's post) that the
only problem in Afghanistan is the destruction of art objects, I
thought a few pointers to information (without comment) might help the
more thoughtful here put the issue in perspective.

1.  "In Hunger, Cold and War, Afghans Only Find Death", New York
    Times, 1 Mar 2001,
    (http://www.nytimes.com/2001/03/01/world/02AFGH.html).

2.  "Afghan currency in freefall amid fears of harsher UN sanctions",
    Agence France-Presse, 5 Dec 2000,
    (http://www.afghanradio.com/news/2000/december/dec5o2000.htm).

3.  "Afghan currency plunges to all-time low", Agence France-Presse,
    20 Jan 2001: "Afghanistan's currency on Saturday plunged to an
    all-time low a day after tough UN sanctions took effect..."
    (http://www.google.com/search?q=cache:www.ptd.net/webnews/wed/at/Qafghan-currency.RRjq_BJK.html+sanctions+afghan+currency&hl=en).

4.  "Letter to U.N. Security Council", Human Rights Watch, 15 Dec
    2000, (http://www.hrw.org/press/2000/12/afghan-ltr-1215.htm).

5.  "Islamabad criticises "humanitarian crisis" caused by sanctions on
    Kabul", Agence France-Presse, 25 Feb 2001,
    (http://www.reliefweb.int/w/rwb.nsf/6686f45896f15dbc852567ae00530132/da0a2c84ea70e4c6c12569ff003933f4?OpenDocument).

6.  "Economic, Humanitarian, and Political Impact of the UN Imposed
    Sanctions on Afghanistan", Online Center for Afghan Studies,
    November 1999
    (http://www.afghan-politics.org/Reference/Sanctions/economic_sanctions_Nov_99.htm).