Propaganda vs. Justice
AAR Editorial - 12/13/2001

Some groups in the US and in Pakistan these days equate the Taliban with other Afghan factions who are fighting terrorism and Talibanism in Afghanistan, accusing both of grave human rights abuses and atrocities and branding both as "Jihadi fundementalists". Some consider this as a biased and unfounded allegation with a diversionary political motive behind it, whereas others consider it credible. This is how we see it briefly:

There is no doubt that serious human rights violations took place between 1992 and 1996. But those who claim not to be politically motivated in their alegations, should also answer these questions to reach a more balanced, realistic and objective view: 1. Who (which groups and leaders) were involved in the violations at the time, and what was the general situation and conditions on the ground, militarily and politically?  2. what type of documented evidence is available for a court of law to examine these cases as opposed to propaganda and hearsay? 3. To what extent were violations institutionalized (as is clearly the case with taliban) and to what extent were they random acts by individuals or runaway armed groups/factions? 4. why are we only focusing and comparing the two periods 1992-1996 and the Taliban periods, and ignoring the vast purges/mass executions/atrocities/scorched earth bombings/torture perpetrated by the Soviet-backed Afghan regimes between 1978-1992 that left more than ONE MILLION Afghans dead and most of the country destroyed - why? 5. Why are we also not looking at the actions and policies of the powerful foreign entities heavily involved in Afghanistan at the time and assessing the actions of the foreign countries (Pakistan, Iran and others) with clout, without whose bullets, shells, weapons, money and direction some of the violations could not have taken place?

Other facts: there was no Northern Alliance at the time. Even today, there is no entity officially called NA. in 1992, the groups making up today's NA were in a whole different setup, most of them aligned against each other. Some were heavily financed and armed by foreign powers that would go to any length to destroy and kill in order to achieve their strategic goal in Afghanistan, case in point, Pakistani intervention and involvement to prop up Gulbudin Hekmatyar until 1995. So we need to look at each component of the NA separately if we want to be objective and fair. The overwhelming majority of civilian deaths in Kabul between 1992-1996 took place as a result of constant shelling and rocketing by Hekmatyar, and then between 1995 till September 1996, by the Taliban, who replaced Hekmatyar as the gunners of Kabul. Parts of Pakistan's military establishment and other countries were directly involved in the supply of ammo and money for this war on the people of Kabul. Surely, some people were killed by fire being returned from Kabul or in fighting inside the city. Looting and rapes also took place, as is the case in every war unfortunately.

When looking at the treatment of women during that period, we see grave abuses. We need to investigate this period to find out who exactly was responsible for alleged rapes and other violations, bring out evidence and submit it to an independent court of law to determine the truth and bring culprits to justice. At the same time, we should not forget that throughout that difficult period, schools and the University were open for girls, women could work and go out with or without a burka or chaperon. How can you compare this with the Taliban rule?

To make blanket and simplistic statements equating the NA (which did not exist as such) with the Taliban is far-fetched and politically motivated. Eventually the Afghans themselves (as opposed to politically driven foreign groups) will have to evaluate and assess the situation, and decide on a judicial process to address that period and others before it. The Afghans, and people in Kabul know better than anyone else what happened, who was responsible for the violations, and they need to be given a voice within a legal framework to speak out. We are amazed that groups such as RAWA or former communist regime members (who have a lot of blood on their hands and would dearly love to divert attention to other issues) blindly attack and accuse others via the western media, but never call for a judicial process to look into the allegations. Is that not politically motivated?

And finally, after 23 years of conflict, Afghans need a message of harmony, unity, forgiveness (with the exception of those accused of mass murder and severe HR violations), compassion, cooperation and justice. Anyone (country, group or individual) who intends to sow disunity, fan ethnic/sectarian conflicts or disrupt the healing process, is today viewed as an enemy, whether Afghan or not. Various Afghan groups and leaders, inside or outside the country, including components of today's NA have made mistakes. We condemn those actions that led to HR violations and ask for a judicial process to look into communist, Mujhadeen and Taliban crimes. On the other hand, others fought valiantly for the independence and freedom of their people, against terrorism, the taliban and Soviet occupation. We also value that struggle, and cannot ignore it.