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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7690213.stm
Anti-Taliban Protests.
- Thread starter Dog Walker
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Sad story I've gotta say, but there were already many atrocities like this although not so deliberate and outwardly vicious (one being the bombing in Kandahar that inflicted "mass"-civilian casualties which). I would say this is the best time to get more aggressive and go with the momentum, before it has a chance to slip away. I'm betting on many low level Taliban deciding to quit because of this and other events and also betting recruitment numbers will decrease pretty drastically. Get to 'em, destroy 'em and finish 'em.
With this new development the new policy with no airstrikes and so forth it might actually assist us more now that it's so unpopular to be in the Taliban. It'll be a lot harder to lose that support now, and I certainly hope this will mean more ANA recruits lining up to kill the talifu**s.
With this new development the new policy with no airstrikes and so forth it might actually assist us more now that it's so unpopular to be in the Taliban. It'll be a lot harder to lose that support now, and I certainly hope this will mean more ANA recruits lining up to kill the talifu**s.
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Meanwhile, the Globe and Mail did not report the protests and ran this on the front page Oct. 25:
Survivor tells of harrowing escape from Taliban bus hijacking (by Jessica Leeder)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081025.wwitness25/BNStory/Afghanistan/home
I'd be willing to wager a considerable sum that if the story were about the Afghan National Army murdering some two dozen alleged Taliban captives it would have a very different tone--and a lot of editorializing about the Karzai government losing popular support.
Mark
Ottawa
Survivor tells of harrowing escape from Taliban bus hijacking (by Jessica Leeder)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081025.wwitness25/BNStory/Afghanistan/home
I'd be willing to wager a considerable sum that if the story were about the Afghan National Army murdering some two dozen alleged Taliban captives it would have a very different tone--and a lot of editorializing about the Karzai government losing popular support.
Mark
Ottawa
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Maybe this horrible incident will entice the locals to give up the Taliban that hide in their villages as well... to help the troops out in local ops. No? Ubique
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gun runner said:
That would be nice, and it's probably already happening quietly, but the fact that the protest didn't happen where the massacre took place suggests to me they're still pretty scared of the Taliban there.
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It looks like the Afghan people are losing patience with the Taliban. I hope the Karzai government can gain their support and trust. If the ANA can provide a stable and safe living environment, I believe less young people would be drawn to the Taliban.
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Its the perception of corruption and weakness of government officials that will continue to stifle real progress. The Afghan people WILL eventually rise up against the TB. Alternatively, the TB might lessen their insistence of super-strict laws and use that to convince the people to give them a second chance (good luck with that one). Apparently a TB shadow government is already in place largely because they are ones who keep order - and THAT is what Afghans want:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1015/p01s01-wosc.html
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1015/p01s01-wosc.html
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" Alternatively, the TB might lessen their insistence of super-strict laws and use that to convince the people to give them a second chance (good luck with that one). Apparently a TB shadow government is already in place largely because they are ones who keep order - and THAT is what Afghans want:"
That would be interesting to watch!!! The Karzai gov't isnt really inspiring the confidence it needs to show in order to win the hearts and minds of the people. Ubique
That would be interesting to watch!!! The Karzai gov't isnt really inspiring the confidence it needs to show in order to win the hearts and minds of the people. Ubique
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milnews.ca said:
I stand corrected - according to the Frontier Post (PAK), it appears the protest happened where the victims came from:
Just a reminder - according to the Taliban, they were only killing soldiers in civvies on their way to fight in Helmand. Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight....
- edited to provide better link to Taliban statement -
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And the rumbling appears to be slowly growing - shared with the usual disclaimer...
In Afghanistan, Beheading of Bus Passengers Sparks Anti-Taliban Protests Not Seen Since 9/11
Middle East Media Research Institute, 31 Oct 08
Article link
On October 16, 2008, Taliban militants in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar hijacked a bus and killed 27 passengers. The bodies of the bus passengers were recovered three days later; some had been beheaded. The manner of the killings has for the first time aroused popular opinion against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Although he confirmed that the Taliban had seized the bus in the Maiwand district of southern Kandahar province, a Taliban spokesman nevertheless said that no civilians were on the bus. Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, explained that the bus was taking Afghan National Army reinforcements to the restive province of Helmand.(1) This claim by the Taliban was later denied by the Afghan government. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense clarified that the bus passengers were not troops.
Independent media investigations have since found out that the 27 passengers, who were from the eastern Afghan province of Laghman, were civilians on their way to Iran for work. The discovery of the Taliban's killing of 27 innocent civilians has sparked anti-Taliban protests, something not seen in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Recently, the protests have spread to other provinces.
Taliban Accused of Being Inhuman, Un-Islamic, and Anti-State
A day after the bodies were recovered, hundreds of people turned out in streets in the eastern Laghman province, where the workers were from, to protest against the Taliban. Abdullah, a local man who joined the protesters in the provincial capital of Mehtar Lam, told local journalists that the victims were innocent laborers en route to Iran in search of jobs.(2) It is common for jobless Afghans to illegally sneak into Iran in search of a livelihood.
Soon the anti-Taliban protests spread to the eastern Paktia province. In Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, hundreds of protesters turned out in streets, shouting slogans against "anti-state elements."(3) They were joined by local elders, Islamic clerics from the city of Gardez and Abdul Rahman Mangal, the Deputy Governor of Paktia province.
The protesters described the killing of civilians as "un-Islamic and inhuman by the country's enemies."(4) They demanded that the Taliban stop shedding the blood of the Afghan people immediately.
Anti-Taliban Protests Spread to Kunar, Khost, and Bamian Provinces
By late October, the anti-Taliban protests over the killings of the bus passengers had spread to the provinces of Kunar, Khost and Bamian, as local people, students and tribal elders joined the demonstrations.(5)
In the eastern Kunar province, activists of the Islamic Youth Organization, a local youth group, staged a protest in the town of Asadabad to condemn the killings. Hundreds of protesters, including students and tribal elders, marched through the streets and shouted slogans against the Taliban.
In Khost, the capital of eastern Khost province, a number of people, including students and soldiers from the Afghan National Army, held a meeting and condemned the workers' killings by the Taliban. A similar meeting was held in the central Bamian province, where a large number of citizens from all walks of life attended the gathering and accused the Taliban of cruelty.
According to another report by Pashtu-language Afghan website Benawa.com, the relatives of the deceased in the eastern Laghman province held a protest, vowing to avenge the killing of the 27 laborers. During a protest, the relatives were joined by local people who condemned the killings and offered the Afghan government to help wipe out the Taliban.(6)
By the end of October the anti-Taliban protests had continued in different parts of Afghanistan. In Kabul, the Afghan capital, the clerics of Afghanistan's Hajj and Auqaf Ministry came out protesting against the Taliban. Expressing their sympathies with the families of the deceased bus passengers, the clerics observed that killing and abduction of Afghan civilians and foreign workers reminded the Afghan people of the dreadful civil war when un-Islamic acts like these had affected the country during the 1990s.(7)
Calling the Taliban's killing and abduction of civilians and foreign workers un-Islamic and against Afghan tradition, the clerics stressed that it is the responsibility of all Muslims to protect the lives of foreigners who work for the welfare of Afghan people.
Endnotes:
(1) The News, Pakistan, October 20, 2008.
(2) Wrazparana Wahdat, Pakistan, October 24, 2008.
(3) Wrazparana.Wahdat, Pakistan, October 27, 2008.
(4) Wrazparana Wahdat, Pakistan, October 27, 2008.
(5) Wrazparana Khabroona, Pakistan, October 29, 2008.
(6) Benawa.com, Afghanistan, October 29, 2008.
(7) Wrazparana Khabroona, Pakistan, October 30, 2008.
In Afghanistan, Beheading of Bus Passengers Sparks Anti-Taliban Protests Not Seen Since 9/11
Middle East Media Research Institute, 31 Oct 08
Article link
On October 16, 2008, Taliban militants in Afghanistan's southern province of Kandahar hijacked a bus and killed 27 passengers. The bodies of the bus passengers were recovered three days later; some had been beheaded. The manner of the killings has for the first time aroused popular opinion against the Taliban in Afghanistan.
Although he confirmed that the Taliban had seized the bus in the Maiwand district of southern Kandahar province, a Taliban spokesman nevertheless said that no civilians were on the bus. Yousuf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, explained that the bus was taking Afghan National Army reinforcements to the restive province of Helmand.(1) This claim by the Taliban was later denied by the Afghan government. Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense clarified that the bus passengers were not troops.
Independent media investigations have since found out that the 27 passengers, who were from the eastern Afghan province of Laghman, were civilians on their way to Iran for work. The discovery of the Taliban's killing of 27 innocent civilians has sparked anti-Taliban protests, something not seen in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban in 2001. Recently, the protests have spread to other provinces.
Taliban Accused of Being Inhuman, Un-Islamic, and Anti-State
A day after the bodies were recovered, hundreds of people turned out in streets in the eastern Laghman province, where the workers were from, to protest against the Taliban. Abdullah, a local man who joined the protesters in the provincial capital of Mehtar Lam, told local journalists that the victims were innocent laborers en route to Iran in search of jobs.(2) It is common for jobless Afghans to illegally sneak into Iran in search of a livelihood.
Soon the anti-Taliban protests spread to the eastern Paktia province. In Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, hundreds of protesters turned out in streets, shouting slogans against "anti-state elements."(3) They were joined by local elders, Islamic clerics from the city of Gardez and Abdul Rahman Mangal, the Deputy Governor of Paktia province.
The protesters described the killing of civilians as "un-Islamic and inhuman by the country's enemies."(4) They demanded that the Taliban stop shedding the blood of the Afghan people immediately.
Anti-Taliban Protests Spread to Kunar, Khost, and Bamian Provinces
By late October, the anti-Taliban protests over the killings of the bus passengers had spread to the provinces of Kunar, Khost and Bamian, as local people, students and tribal elders joined the demonstrations.(5)
In the eastern Kunar province, activists of the Islamic Youth Organization, a local youth group, staged a protest in the town of Asadabad to condemn the killings. Hundreds of protesters, including students and tribal elders, marched through the streets and shouted slogans against the Taliban.
In Khost, the capital of eastern Khost province, a number of people, including students and soldiers from the Afghan National Army, held a meeting and condemned the workers' killings by the Taliban. A similar meeting was held in the central Bamian province, where a large number of citizens from all walks of life attended the gathering and accused the Taliban of cruelty.
According to another report by Pashtu-language Afghan website Benawa.com, the relatives of the deceased in the eastern Laghman province held a protest, vowing to avenge the killing of the 27 laborers. During a protest, the relatives were joined by local people who condemned the killings and offered the Afghan government to help wipe out the Taliban.(6)
By the end of October the anti-Taliban protests had continued in different parts of Afghanistan. In Kabul, the Afghan capital, the clerics of Afghanistan's Hajj and Auqaf Ministry came out protesting against the Taliban. Expressing their sympathies with the families of the deceased bus passengers, the clerics observed that killing and abduction of Afghan civilians and foreign workers reminded the Afghan people of the dreadful civil war when un-Islamic acts like these had affected the country during the 1990s.(7)
Calling the Taliban's killing and abduction of civilians and foreign workers un-Islamic and against Afghan tradition, the clerics stressed that it is the responsibility of all Muslims to protect the lives of foreigners who work for the welfare of Afghan people.
Endnotes:
(1) The News, Pakistan, October 20, 2008.
(2) Wrazparana Wahdat, Pakistan, October 24, 2008.
(3) Wrazparana.Wahdat, Pakistan, October 27, 2008.
(4) Wrazparana Wahdat, Pakistan, October 27, 2008.
(5) Wrazparana Khabroona, Pakistan, October 29, 2008.
(6) Benawa.com, Afghanistan, October 29, 2008.
(7) Wrazparana Khabroona, Pakistan, October 30, 2008.
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Well.... though I abhor the loss of life, I couldn't be more satisfied that the people ARE getting fed up with the lunatic acts of the Taliban & the foreign fighters who support them.
Now, if we could only limit the number of incidents where innocent bystanders are mowed down by NATO & the ANA / ANP, we'd be moving ahead in dealing with this insurgency.
Now, if we could only limit the number of incidents where innocent bystanders are mowed down by NATO & the ANA / ANP, we'd be moving ahead in dealing with this insurgency.
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