ISLAMABAD, Jan 10: The Unesco director-general, Koichiro Matsuura, has said that his organization places great emphasis on the role of culture in resolving conflicts.
He said building of unity out of a diversity of cultural elements was important where violent conflict has exploited cultural and religious differences for its own ends.
Mr Matsuura was speaking at a ceremony of launching the “International Year for Cultural Heritage” at the National Library Auditorium here on Thursday.
Federal Culture Minister S.K. Tressler was also present on the occasion.
Speaking on the occasion Mr Matsuura said, “this is the year for launching of the UN Cultural Heritage Year 2002.”
He said, the UN General Assembly had invited Unesco to serve as the lead agency for the year and he accepted this opportunity to deepen and extend international co-operation in protecting and promoting the cultural diversity.
He recalled that in the last year, the world watched helplessly the shocking destruction of Buddha’s statues in Bamiyan, Afghanistan. Those acts generated concern and outrage throughout the world and in civil society at large.
The Unesco DG said that the tragic loss highlighted the importance of effective prevention of such unacceptable behaviour in the future.
He said that it was the destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan that prompted the United Nations General Assembly to proclaim 2002 as the “Year for Cultural Heritage.”
He said during this year, each country would implement the national awareness-raising campaign project and mobilise all the available human, technical and financial resources required in support of projects for protecting both national heritage and the heritage of humankind.
He said that Unesco looked to Pakistan to play a prominent role at the national and international level in these processes and, of course, in the celebration of the United Nations Year for Cultural Heritage.
The Unesco DG said that six key sites in Pakistan had been placed on the World Heritage list and emphasized that these should be protected and preserved to ensure that Pakistan’s rich and diverse cultural heritage would be handed over to the future generation in good condition.
He said that Pakistan and Unesco had been working together for many years for this purpose. He said that the Pakistan government deserved credit for its initiative in alerting Unesco’s World Heritage Centre about the threats facing these sites.
He said that during his visit to Kabul he would discuss with the interim government the forms of future action for rehabilitating Afghanistan within the frame work of the United Nations inter-agency programme.
Earlier the culture minister lauded the Unesco efforts for stimulating member states to undertake significant measures to safeguard their cultural heritage.
The culture secretary, Yusuf Kamal, also touched upon the contribution made by Unesco for the protection of sites for cultural heritage.
Meanwhile the Pakistan National Council of the Arts arranged a special cultural show for the Unesco director-general at the National Library Auditorium here in the evening.
PNCA cultural troupe presented dances.
The Unesco DG and others, including ambassadors and diplomats from several countries, were present in a large number.
Saima Khushnood performed a Kathak dance to the tune of recorded music. Though Saima is very young, she performed very skillfully, enchanting the audience with her scintillating movements.
Asad Qazilbash performed music on Sarood accompanied by Tabla performance by Mohammad Ajmal, another talented musician from Islamabad.
Their performance was appreciated by the large crowd.