WELCOME TO IWPR'S AFGHAN RECOVERY REPORT, No. 249, April 11, 2007 JOURNALISTS DEATH CASTS LONG SHADOW OVER AFGHAN GOVERNMENT President Karzai may have helped save the Prodi government by trading Taleban prisoners for an Italian hostage, but in the process, he has damaged his own credibility at home. By Hafizullah Gardesh in Kabul and IWPR trainees in Helmand
LIVING UNDER THE TALEBAN Fundamentalist rule has returned to Musa Qala and some residents have never been happier. By IWPR trainees in Helmand **** NEW AT IWPR ****************************************************************** NEW PODCAST: THIS WEEK ON IWPR A regular audio programme produced by IWPR US, highlighting IWPR news and analysis on issues of conflict, human rights and international justice, written by our contributors around the world. To listen to the programme or for details on how to subscribe see http://iwpr.net/?apc_state=hen&s=u&p IRAQ PHOTO DIARIES, NIGHT RAIDS: Peter van Agtmael documents the late-night raids carried out by American and Iraqi troops against the homes of suspected insurgents. This series of photographs was awarded a 2nd place in the General News Stories category at the World Press Photo Awards in 2007. http://iwpr.net/?apc_state=henh&s=o&o=top_galleries_index.html 2007 KURT SCHORK AWARDS: IWPR has launched the call for this years entries for the Kurt Schork Awards in International Journalism. The awards honour fearless freelance news reporting and local journalists who cannot leave their country when the story becomes secondary to survival. Full details of the 2007 awards and how to enter may be found on the Kurt Schork Award pages on IWPRs website www.iwpr.net AFGHAN BLOG: A weekly peek into the cultural, political and social landscape of Afghanistan. By Jean MacKenzie, Country Director for IWPR in Afghanistan. Visit at http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?s=d&p=arr **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** AFGHAN RECOVERY REPORT RSS: http://www.iwpr.net/en/arr/rss.xml RECEIVE FROM IWPR: Readers are urged to subscribe to IWPR's full range of free electronic publications at: http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=henh&s=s&m=p GIVE TO IWPR: IWPR is wholly dependent upon grants and donations. For more information about how you can support IWPR go to: http://www.iwpr.net/donate.html **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** JOURNALISTS DEATH CASTS LONG SHADOW OVER AFGHAN GOVERNMENT President Karzai may have helped save the Prodi government by trading Taleban prisoners for an Italian hostage, but in the process, he has damaged his own credibility at home. By Hafizullah Gardesh in Kabul and IWPR trainees in Helmand The murder of Ajmal Naqshbandi, the Afghan journalist kidnapped in Helmand on March 5, shocked the country. A growing wave of anger is directed at the government of President Hamed Karzai, who is viewed as having condemned Ajmal to death by his inaction. The news hit the airwaves on April 8. Shahabuddin Atal, who claims to be spokesman for feared Taleban commander Mullah Dadullah, told the media that the young journalist had been beheaded, one day ahead of a deadline set by his captors. Within hours, the country was in uproar. Nesar Ahmad, 40, a Kabul resident, could not speak of Ajmal without tears in his eyes. Why are these oppressors killing you [journalists], who have no weapons besides a pen and a notebook? You are the voice of the nation, you bring the misery of the people to the ears of the world. Our government does not support our people, it is you journalists who do, he said. Ajmal Naqshbandi and a driver, Sayed Agha, were seized by the Taleban in Helmand province on March 5 along with Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo, whom they were accompanying. Sayed Agha was beheaded within days, while Mastrogiacomo was freed in a controversial deal approved by the Karzai government. Five Taleban detainees were exchanged for the Italian, including Mullah Dadullahs brother, Mansoor Ahmad, and Latif Hakimi, the former spokesman of the Taleban. Defending himself against the criticism that he gave in to the Talebans demands too easily, President Karzai said, Italy has given great help to this war-shattered country. When they ask for help, we should respond positively. But critics argue that the exchange will just encourage the Taleban to carry out further abductions. One Taleban commander in Helmand, who refused to give his name, lent credence to these fears. Kidnappings are now more important to us than suicide attacks, he told IWPR. We will follow this path in the future. Ajmal was reportedly freed along with Mastrogiacomo on March 19. The story then grows quite murky. According to information from local sources in Helmand and confirmed by officials in Kabul, the young Afghan was taken to the Emergency Hospital in Lashkar Gah run by an Italian aid agency, from where he later disappeared. The head of the hospital, Rahmatullah Hanefi, has been arrested and is under investigation for his alleged complicity in the affair. Ajmal, who was held for five weeks before his murder, became a focal point for popular disaffection with the Afghan government, which many saw as indifferent to the fate of its own citizens. The longer the crisis went on, the more explosive the situation became. In Kabul, journalists associations organised a protest in front of parliament on April 9, the day after Ajmals murder. They issued a joint resolution condemning the government for its failure to secure Ajmals release, and asked all media to boycott coverage of the Taleban for one week. Newspapers were printed with a black-bordered portrait of Ajmal on April 10, and electronic media observed two minutes of silence. Fazel Hossein Sancharaki, head of the National Union of Journalists, blamed the government for Ajmals death. The government is just thinking about foreign nationals, not about its own citizens, he told IWPR. With all the power at its disposal, added Sancharaki, the government could and should have done more to gain Ajmals release. After this, journalists will never feel safe, because they have no support, he said. This will have a very negative impact on freedom of speech in Afghanistan. Farida, a young journalist in Helmand, is a case in point. At 17, she has been a reporter for two years, even though she is still a schoolgirl. Many of my classmates wanted to be journalists, but when we heard about Ajmal, they all said, no, we dont want this. They say, If they can do this to men, what can they do to us? and now they are putting pressure on me not to work, to just stay at home, she said. Today it was Ajmal, tomorrow it could be any one of us, said Sabawoon, a radio journalist in Helmand. It is getting closer and closer. When will it be my turn? The legislature has also come in for its share of condemnation. Engineer Abaas Nawian, a member of parliament, admits that the Wolesi Jirga, or lower house, did nothing to help. The Wolesi Jirga neglected this issue completely, he said. It was not on the agenda even for an hour. When one member of parliament had his house searched, we talked about it for days. But regarding a journalists life, the parliament keeps silent. Fellow parliamentarian Shukria Barakzai agreed, saying, I raised the issue [of Ajmal] several times in parliament, but I was told by the speaker Younus Qanuni to sit down and shut up. . Presidential spokesman Karim Rahimi defended Karzai and his government. We were following the issue from the very beginning, but the Taleban lied to us, he said. We exchanged five Taleban for Mastrogiacomo and Ajmal. They brought him to the Emergency Hospital - but they did not release him. Rahimi added that individuals believed to be involved in the case had been arrested and were being interrogated. Observers see political machinations at work. Ajmal Naqshbandi is the victim of political games, said one analyst, who did not want to be named. The winners here are Italy, America, and Pakistan. The Afghan government and the Taleban are the losers. The release of Mastrogiacomo helped prop up the government of Italian prime minister Romano Prodi, who had been under attack at home for, among other things, sending troops to Afghanistan. Prodi earlier warned Karzai that if Mastrogiacomo was not released, the Italian government might have to withdraw its troops from the country. We saw when the Italian journalist was freed, the prime minister gained a stronger position among his people, said the analyst. And Italy announced more assistance for Afghanistan. The Americans also benefited, he said, because, in the absence of Italys 1,800 troops, the burden on US forces would be increased. Pakistan, he added, gained by undermining the Karzai government. By killing Ajmal, Taleban and the ISI [Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence] showed the Afghan people that this is a foreigners government. Afghans are not worth anything to them. If that is true, the policy seems to be working. Until today, despite all the dirt in our government, I was not so pessimistic, said Najibullah, a resident of Kabul. But after Ajmals murder, my hatred of the government increased. They could release five Taleban killers for one Italian, but they could do nothing for Ajmal. We do not trust this government any more. We do not trust Karzai any more. However, the Taleban are also losing some support. I sympathised with the Taleban, said Mohammad Ibrahimi, from western Kabul. I thought they were holy warriors of Islam. But now they have killed an Afghan, a Muslim. I realise that the Taleban are neither Afghans nor Muslims. They are just slaves of Pakistan. In Helmand, too, anger against the Taleban is building. The Taleban are killers, said Mustafa, 22, a resident of Lashkar Gah. This time they killed simple Afghans - a driver and a journalist. That is a very great crime. Mohammad Aref, 28, also of Lashkar Gah, is reserving his anger for the government. Our government has no sense of responsibility to the people. Even if 100 people are murdered every day, it is not important for them. They are weak trading one Italian for five Talebs shows that our government is incapable of doing anything at all. Shah Mahmud, 42, agreed. The governments action in exchanging the Italian for five Talebs is a very long way removed from our beliefs and customs, he said. The people have lost faith in the government. They will never believe it after this. Hafizullah Gardesh is IWPRs editor in Kabul. IWPR is implementing a journalist training programme in Helmand province, and the trainees contributed material for this report. LIVING UNDER THE TALEBAN Fundamentalist rule has returned to Musa Qala and some residents have never been happier. By IWPR trainees in Helmand The reports are grim. Three men were hanged on April 1 in Helmand, executed as spies by the Taleban regime. The body of one hung for hours in Musa Qala, where the fundamentalists chased out village elders and ran up their flag in early February. While the news sent shudders through the capital, Lashkar Gah, residents of Musa Qala were undaunted. I dont care about those three men, said shopkeeper Zia ul Haq. They deserved to die. I am happy. We have no problems here, except the possibility of bombardment. Musa Qala formally fell to the Taleban in February, barely four months after a controversial agreement under which village elders promised to keep the fundamentalists out in return for a British withdrawal. The deal brought peace to the town, which had seen months of heavy fighting, but it sent thousands of people fleeing to more secure areas, fearing that NATO bombs would soon come to unseat the Taleban. Two months later, the Taleban are still in charge. I do not want to take Musa Qala by force, said President Hamed Karzai, speaking to residents of Lashkar Gah on March 29. I want to solve problems by negotiations with all sides. But just one day earlier, provincial officials were telling a different story. We will recapture Musa Qala, Helmand military chief Abdul Wahid Faizi told IWPR. We will move the Taleban out of the town. We are working on plans now, and I am sure we will do that soon. While the government tries to decide on its course, local residents have had to continue with their lives. Many say they are happier now than they have been for years and more than willing to trade a certain amount of freedom for some peace and security. In my life I have only had two happy periods in which I felt safe, said Zia ul Haq. The first time was at the beginning of the Karzai administration and the second is now, when the Taleban is controlling the district. Security is very good: there are no thieves, no kidnappers, everyone lives in safety and is able to get on with their lives. We are all happy. His assessment is in sharp contrast to official pronouncements. We have 900 families registered as refugees from Musa Qala, said Abdulstar Muzahari, head of the department of refugees. None of them have gone back. The only people who returned were drug traffickers and those who are linked to the Taleban. Most people hate the Taleban, they are not good to people. Certainly Sayed Ahmad Akaa, father of three, agrees. He has moved his family to the capital, and says that the shift is permanent. You could not pay me to go back to Musa Qala, he told IWPR. My children cannot go to school there, I cannot live. I sold all my land and am buying a shop in Lashkar Gah. I will never go back. Abdul Mane, another refugee, is just as adamant. I cannot return, because the Taleban say that I am a spy, he said. They have threatened me with death. I have not seen my parents in three months. Bu those who remain say life has never been better. When the government was controlling Musa Qala, you could not leave the house with 1000 rupees in your pocket (about 25 US dollars), said Abdul Hadi. There were thieves everywhere. But now things are quite different. Everyone is happy and feels free, you can carry gold and no one will steal it from you. Security concerns among Helmandis are wider than the threat from insurgents. Official corruption and police inaction made the cities unsafe, with those in uniform being seen as just as likely to perpetrate a crime as to prevent one. And residents feared government and foreign troops as much as they feared the Taleban. If the government cannot control the situation, we have to let the Taleban rule, said one shopkeeper, who did not want to be named. We were sleeping in the desert, because there were bombs and fires in our district every night between one and three a.m. When the government launches an operation, they give no warning. People were dying we buried five or six bodies every day, most of them civilians. The graveyards were full. A bomb fell on one house and five members of the family were killed. The Taleban notify us when they intend to operate. We hate the local authorities, because they destroyed our family, said another local resident. On March 22, the Taleban came to us and said we are fighting tonight, protect yourselves. So we packed up the car and went to the desert. The fighting began at seven p.m. As we were driving, the Taleban shot at our car and my wife and uncle were killed. We sat all night in the desert, and when we came home we found the doors to our house broken and all our belongings stolen by the local authorities. What are we supposed to do? We cannot sue the government or the Taleban, and both sides just come and beat us on our heads. In addition to the violence, Helmands most important revenue source, opium poppy, is under threat from foreign-backed eradication campaigns. According to a 2006 report by the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, UNODC, Afghanistan now produces over 90 per cent of the worlds heroin. And the undisputed champion of Afghan production is Helmand, where this season, according to provincial officials, more than 70 per cent of the land has been planted with poppy. Last years harvest made up more than 40 per cent of the Afghan total. This means that an overwhelming majority of Helmands farmers have invested their economic survival in the fields of bright red flowers that dot the landscape. The government launched a widely publicised eradication effort in February, but, once again, it has bogged down in corruption, and the results have fallen far short of expectation. The one undeniable effect seems to have been to drive farmers right into the arms of the Taleban. We are growing more poppy this year than ever before, said Hamidullah, a farmer in Musa Qala. The Taleban tell us as long as we are here, no one can destroy your poppy. The government cannot come here now, because there is another power here. It is the government of the Taleban. I am growing poppy, and now I am happy, agreed Muhammad Meer. I do not have to worry about the government coming to destroy my crop. The Taleban is not saying anything against poppy, and they have not asked us for help. We are very happy now. The Taleban seem to have learned something from the past. At least for the present, they are refraining from the more excessive aspects of their former brutal rule. The Taleban this time do not punish people for their short beards or long hair, said Abdul Mane. They do not bother people for listening to music or watching television. We are very happy about the present situation in our district. Hamidullah agrees. We have a new kind of life now, he said. Nobody asks us why did you shave your beard? or why are you watching a movie? This is the Taleban, but its a new kind of Taleban. We love our life. Come to Musa Qala. If you are here for a few days, I am sure you will never want to leave. IWPR is running a journalism training programme in Helmand province. This story is a compilation of trainee reports. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** AFGHAN RECOVERY REPORT from the Institute for War & Peace Reporting is a unique free service providing local media outlets and the international community with objective and reliable news from local sources. Afghan Recovery Report is produced as part of IWPR's training work to develop the professional capabilities and sustainability of the Afghan print media, facilitating their role as a critical monitor and guardian of the stabilisation and recovery process. The opinions expressed in IWPR's Afghan Recovery Report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the publication or of IWPR. IWPR Afghanistan provides workshops and practical on-the-job training for local journalists, with weekly publication and syndication in local language media. Other activities include training Afghan trainers, working with the Kabul University journalism faculty and reporting on human rights and humanitarian issues. AFGHAN RECOVERY REPORT: Editor-in-Chief: Anthony Borden; Managing Editor: Yigal Chazan; Senior Editor: John Macleod. IWPR Project Development and Support: Executive Director: Anthony Borden; Strategy & Assessment Director: Alan Davis; Managing Director: Tim Williams. **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** IWPR builds democracy at the frontlines of conflict and change through the power of professional journalism. IWPR programs provide intensive hands-on training, extensive reporting and publishing, and ambitious initiatives to build the capacity of local media. Supporting peace-building, development and the rule of law, IWPR gives responsible local media a voice. Institute for War & Peace Reporting 48 Grays Inn Road, London WC1X 8LT, UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 1030 Fax: +44 (0)20 7831 1050 For further details on this project and other information services and media programmes, go to: www.iwpr.net ISSN: 1477-7916 Copyright (c) 2007 The Institute for War & Peace Reporting **** www.iwpr.net ******************************************************************** If you wish to change your subscription details or unsubscribe please go to: http://www.iwpr.net/index.php?apc_state=henh&s=s&m=p
