Afghanistan Is Not A-OK

AFGHANISTAN IS NOT A-OK

Last week Rumsfield said things were pretty swell in Afghanistan. He seems pretty much alone in that assessment.

Vikram Parekh of the International Crisis Group think-tank said Rumsfeld’s declaration was "to make it appear as if Afghanistan has been a success story from the standpoint of security and the standpoints established for reform and reconstruction." It was an attempt to "boost US credibility in Iraq," he said. "The reality is that if anything, things have deteriorated in southern Afghanistan," he added.

Yesterday, the United Nations and an Afghan human rights group accused fighters in northwestern Afghanistan of violating human rights during clashes last month, including the execution of 26 people whose bodies were found with their hands tied. Further, the human rights delegation confirmed that at least 38 civilians, including three women and 12 children, were killed as homes and shops were looted in Akazi village. UN officials and the representatives of the government-appointed Afghan rights group traveled to Badghis province earlier this month after fighting erupted in the area between suspected Taliban forces and soldiers loyal to the local governor, Gul Mohammed Khan. The governor was installed with the approval of the US backed administration of President Hamid Karzai. The abuses were part of a pattern of incidents that included forced taxation of residents by soldiers and "armed individuals not wearing any recognizable uniform," along with extortion and theft of cattle and agricultural harvests. Those who failed to comply with the demands have been beaten, tortured, executed or accused of being members of the Taliban. "The population does not complain to the local authorities out of fear that this would only exacerbate their abusive behavior," the statement said.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a recently released report warlords terrorize the population with a "climate of fear" and religious fundamentalism is rising in Afghanistan 18 months after U.S. forces toppled the ruling Taliban regime. "The international community has allowed warlords and local military commanders to take control of much of the country," its representative Loubna Freih told the UN Human Rights Commission, now ending its annual six-week session in Geneva. She said that instead of providing security, the warlords were terrorizing the local population in many parts of the country, with kidnappings, arbitrary arrests, armed robbery, extortion and beatings widespread. Freih said the warlords had in some places maintained law and order "by creating a climate of fear, not unlike under the Taliban..." Political opponents, journalists and ordinary Afghans "are attacked and intimidated into silence," she added. "Religious fundamentalism is on the rise, with new restrictions on freedom of expression and movement of women and girls. Gains in education are now at risk as many parents, afraid of attacks by troops and other gunmen, keep their daughters out of school," she said. Soldiers and police -- who were to have been retrained by U.S. and other troops involved in an international security force also largely limited to the capital -- "regularly abduct and rape women, girls and boys," Freih said. Interior Minister Ali Ahmad Jalali did could not defend his cops at a news conference late last week, "Unfortunately, at present in the activities of the police force, we see cases in which police are not living up to their obligation to respect the rights of individuals," he said. "Persecution and beating are prevalent in some places." He said that the government would increase police training in the area of human rights to counter the problem. There are about 50,000 police officers in Afghanistan, but most are paramilitaries loyal to regional warlords who have little or no formal training and do not function as a united, civilian force.

HRW said in a separate report that attacks and threats against Afghan journalists have increased sharply in recent weeks. Afghan security personnel have created a pervasive climate of fear in which journalists are afraid to openly publish articles that criticize leaders. "Press freedom in Afghanistan is under assault," said John Sifton, a researcher in the Asia Division of Human Rights Watch. "Army, police and intelligence forces are delivering death threats and arresting Afghan journalists, effectively silencing them." Many of the threats and arrests have occurred after journalists have criticized certain cabinet members in the Afghan government. HRW said that many of the threats have been delivered by members of the Amniat-e Melli, the intelligence arm of the Afghan government, on behalf of the political organization Shura-e Nazar, a loosely coordinated group of former mujahidin parties. "Powerful people in Kabul are using their cronies in security forces to try to silence their critics," Sifton said. Security officials have warned journalists to stop publishing critical articles, delivering warnings such as, "The day is not far off when you will be killed," or "We could kill you easily." Some journalists have been arrested by police forces and detained in Kabul's jails. In addition, Ismail Khan, the governor of the western province of Herat, has continued to stifle local media. Last month, his security personnel arrested and beat a radio journalist during the opening ceremony for the new office of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission, prompting most Herat-based radio journalists to leave the city in protest. HRW criticized the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, the cabinet ministry responsible for media issues, for not effectively responding to pleas from journalists for help in dealing with the threats. In some cases, officials have reinforced threats by telling journalists they should not be critical of government officials. Sifton said that journalists were increasingly afraid of seeking assistance or protection from local police forces. "One journalist went to a police commander in Kabul for protection, but the commander said more senior officials had ordered him not to help," said Sifton. "The commander told the reporter he 'should face the consequences' for criticizing Shura-e Nazar leaders." The Committee to Protect Journalists agreed with HRW saying, "the unchecked power of local warlords and weak rule of law" make the country an inhospitable environment for the press. It said that despite the new freedoms of the post-Taliban era, it is impossible for journalists to write and speak freely because of threats, physical intimidation, and assault.
Sources: Afghan News Network RAWA Asian Tribune Afghan Internet IRIN AFP RFE/RL

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