Protests against Quran burning rage for fourth day

By Jennifer Rowland Friday, February 24, 2012 - 9:54 AM Share

Apologies: President Barack Obama on Thursday sent an official letter of apology to Afghan president Hamid Karzai over NATO troops' accidental burning of Qurans, but protests across Afghanistan continued unabated Friday for the fourth straight day, with protesters congregating outside NATO and Afghan government installations (CNN, AP,AJE, BBC, NYT, CNN). At least two protesters were killed in Kabul on Friday and many more across the country were injured (Reuters).

The killing of two NATO service members by a man in an Afghan Army uniform on Thursday during protests in Afghanistan occurred as the U.S. military is urgently reviewing its security procedures in order to prevent such friendly fire attacks (NYT). Of the 45 incidents of violence against NATO troops by Afghan security forces or private contractors since 2007, 75% have taken place in the last two years, intensifying officials' concerns over this issue.

The Taliban's public beheading on Sunday of four men accused of being government spies, and the gruesome murder of a progressive radio station director three days later, have caused local and international officials to seriously doubt the group's claims that it has changed its violent ways (NYT). Bonus read: Rachel Reid, "'Moderate' Taliban: A wolf in sheep's clothing?" (FP).

Call to the table

Pakistani Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani on Friday voiced the country's first public appeal to the Taliban and all other Afghan insurgent groups "to participate in an intra-Afghan process for reconciliation and peace" (AP, AFP). Gilani also condemned NATO troops' burning of Qurans at Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan as "utterly irresponsible and reprehensible" (AFP).

Following talks in London with Pakistani Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Thursday for a resumption of the full range of ties with Pakistan, saying "this relationship is simply too important to turn our back on" (AP, AFP, Dawn ). In what could be a signal that Pakistan will soon reopen supply routes to NATO troops in Afghanistan, Pakistan State Oil Co. (PSO) is looking to purchase 25,000 metric tons of jet fuel, an import that was halted after the November 26 NATO attack on a Pakistani checkpoint that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers (WSJ). Pakistan is reportedly in talks with Iran about a deal to barter a million metric tons of wheat to Iran in exchange for iron ore and fertilizer, as international sanctions have reduced the country's ability to pay for imports, particularly food (Dawn).

Associated Press reporters Asif Shahzad and Chris Brummitt have a must-read on the glimmer of hope given by a Supreme Court case against Pakistan's powerful Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI) to the families of Pakistan's "missing" persons, who were detained by the ISI and never heard from again (AP). Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced Thursday that the government is dropping its cases against exiled Baloch dissidents, and called on the leaders to return to Pakistan to participate in talks on a political solution for the conflict in Balochistan (ET, Dawn). And President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday summoned Pakistani Ambassador to the United States Sherry Rehman to brief the president on the inquiry into the "Memogate" controversy, as Mansoor Ijaz testified from the Pakistan High Commission in London for the third day (ET).

Finally, three suicide bombers on Friday used small arms and grenades to force their way into the Peshawar police station, where they blew themselves up, killing four policemen (AFP, AP, ET, AJE).

Reviving the joy of reading

The senior librarian at Karachi's Liaquat Memorial Library, Naheed Jahan, mourns the loss of appetite for reading books that she sees in Pakistani youth, as students focus solely on studying only what they need to know for exams (ET). Close to retirement, Jahan hopes to leave behind advice from a Pirzada Ashiq couplet:

"Sarror-e-ilm hai kaifay-e-sharab say behtar,

Koi raqeeb nahi hai kitaab say behtar"

"An intoxication with knowledge is better than intoxication with alcohol,

There is no better friend than a book"

-- Jennifer Rowland

SHAH MARAI/AFP/Getty Images

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12:50 PM ET

March 15, 2012

Kabul - Hundreds of Afghans

Kabul - Hundreds of Afghans threw stones, shouted "death to America" and torched tyres, pouring onto streets on Wednesday for a second day of angry protests against Nato troops for burning copies of the Qur'an.

About 500 protesters threw stones at a US military base in Kabul, while in the eastern city of Jalalabad more than 1 000 demonstrators blocked the highway shouting "Death to Americans, Death to Obama", AFP journalists said.

Afghanistan is a deeply religious country where slights against Islam have frequently provoked violent protests and Afghans were incensed that any Western troops could be so insensitive, 10 years after the 2001 US-led invasion.

In Kabul, the crowd attacked anti-riot police, forcing them to retreat, an AFP photographer said. At least one protester was shot, he said, without being able to identify where the shots came from.

Troops guarding the base, Camp Phoenix, fired in the air, he said, while black smoke from burning tyres rose above the demonstration in the Hod Khail neighbourhood.

A second protest erupted in west Kabul, involving about 100 university students, a police spokesperson said, adding that riot police were present and the demonstration was under control.

Highway blocked

The Jalalabad protest also involved university students, who chanted "We cannot tolerate insults to the sacred religion of Islam" as they prepared to burn an effigy of US President Barack Obama, an AFP reporter said.

The crowd blocked the key highway from the capital Kabul through the eastern provinces to the Pakistani trade port of Turkham.

On Tuesday, protests erupted in Kabul and outside the US-run Bagram military base, north of the capital, as word spread that Nato troops had burnt copies of the Qur'an.

The US commander in Afghanistan, General John Allen, apologised and ordered an investigation into an incident in which troops "improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Qur'ans".

In an attempt to head off further protests in deeply religious Afghanistan, Allen repeated his apology late on Tuesday and said that all troops would be trained in the "proper handling of religious materials no later than March 3".

Shoulder to shoulder

For the first time, he admitted that Qur'ans had been burnt, saying they were "inadvertently taken to an incineration facility at Bagram airfield".

"Along with our apology to the Afghans is our certainty and assurance to them that these kinds of incidents, when they do occur, will be corrected in the fastest and most appropriate manner possible," said Allen.

"We've been shoulder to shoulder with the Afghans for a long time. We've been dying alongside the Afghans for a long time because we believe in them; we believe in their country, and we want to have every opportunity to give them a bright future."

Two US officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the military removed Qur'ans from the US-run prison at Bagram because inmates were suspected of using the holy book to pass messages to each other.

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MAXIMB

12:06 PM ET

March 19, 2012

Imperialism. When a country

Imperialism. When a country perceives a thre"at to its stability from a shortage of natural resources, the nation, if possessing military power, can diplomatically with a twist of militarily maneuver its way into the region in which they desire resources, make connections through intelligence activities, and offer security for access to said resources. The U.S. gets involved in foreign affairs when there is something at stake for the US, no matter how unnecessary the technology that uses the resource may be. But thousands of women being raped in D.R. Congo and genocide in Rawanda offer no strategic value to the US, thus their plight for democracy and civility go unnoticed by mainstream media which dictates mainstream politics..

"Is rio orange war always forfait sosh inevitable ?"
MaximB