The Good WAR? Afghanistan in the media by Atiya Munir

14th July 2009

The Good WAR? Afghanistan in the media

With an increase in the number of British troop casualties in Afghanistan hitting the news and our Ministers and military still insisting that this is a ‘good’ war that can be won, I seized the opportunity to attend a meeting organised by Media Workers Against the War1 and Stop the War Coalition2 to get an alternative perspective on what really is going on inside Afghanistan. As I walked down Euston Road towards Quakers Friends House, the venue of the meeting, I wondered how many and what kind of people would be turning up for an event like this. I expected a small gathering of anti-war activists and young students but was surprised to enter a large hall packed full with an enthusiastic audience of over a hundred people of all ages and very ethnically diverse.

It was emphasised that all speakers would be giving their personal perspectives on what’s happening in Afghanistan and, therefore, would not be representing the views of their organisations. Lindsey German, founder of the Stop the War Coalition, opened the plenary with a reminder that, though it may have been the worst week in terms of casualties for British troops, worse days has been experienced by Afghani civilians, which largely go unreported in the Western media or the scale of casualties is denied. The session then kicked off with Guy Smallman, a photojournalist recently returned from Afghanistan with a slideshow showing the casualties in the Afghan village of Granai in which a US air strike in May had killed 140 civilians, the highest number of civilian casualties since the conflict began. Guy showed us photos of small children that had sustained serious burns from the air strikes with some having lost their entire families, a ruined mud mosque, destroyed mud-houses and stacks of unrecognised body pieces waiting to be buried. A particularly haunting photo was of some young boys and girls who stood aloof with blank faces. Contrary to the United States’s claim that the heavy air strikes were carried out in response to their surveillance showing the presence of the Taliban, the villagers denied this saying that they hated the Taliban and had not allowed them to enter the village. When American un-manned drones started their air-strikes the villagers ran to take shelter in the mosque, which was then probably read by the US Army's drone operator sitting behind a laptop looking through its cameras as a group of Taliban. Tragically, 93 members of this group were children and not a single Taliban!

Stephen Grey, an investigative journalist embedded with British troops in Helmand, narrated his personal account of what it was like on the ground and his experiences of reporting through the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Stephen gave a vivid description of the fierce nature of fighting in Helmand province during which he saw Afghani cars packed with women and children escaping the combat zone in the midst of intense firing. On one occasion, a car door exploded open and the bodies of two dead children fell out. Due to the MOD restrictions imposed on the reporters, and the journalists having to clear their reports with the military first, many incidents of soldier deaths and civilian casualties go unreported in our media. Journalists who are critical of the army’s strategy or of the conditions under which the soldiers are fighting are denied entry into the army as embeds. However, based on his time spent with the soldiers, Guy was clear that a large number of soldiers are aware of these government tactics and are becoming disillusioned about the real purpose of the war in Afghanistan. A fuller account of Guy’s frontline experiences in Afghanistan along with his extensive interviews with the soldiers can be read in his recently published book “Operation Snakebite: The Explosive True Story of an Afghan Desert Siege”.

The final talk was given by the Guardian columnist Seumas Milne, who analysed the ever shifting objectives presented by the government, from capturing Osama Bin Laden, getting rid of Al-Qaida, installing democracy and freeing the women, none of which have been achieved so far. If anything, the situation appears to be worse in Afghanistan with one of the most corrupt Western-backed governments installed, a soaring production of opium and a rise in honour-killings and crimes against women. Gordon Brown's assertion that the war in Afghanistan is helping to prevent terrorism on the streets of Britain does not bear scrutiny either - the bombing of Afghan villages and the slaughter of civilians is only fuelling a rise of recruits for the Taliban and a hatred for the West. The best strategy would be an immediate withdrawal of British troops and to let the Afghani people run their own country as they have been doing for centuries past. The only military option should be to set up a small regional coalition force made up of Pakistan, Iran, China and Russia to help in the reconstruction of the country.

A lively question and answer session followed with a reminder that as the government is lacking any clear strategies on the war in Afghanistan it was up to the British public to get a clear message across that it was time to withdraw troops. One way of doing this would be by becoming active campaigners and by taking part in the protests that the Stop the War Coalition will be organising in the coming months before the next election.

Next week3 I plan to attend a public meeting at which Malalai Joya, an Afghan female Member of Parliament, will give an eye witness account of life in Afghanistan under war and occupation. I’ll keep you posted.



1 www.mwaw.net
2 www.stopwar.org.uk
3 Stop the War Public Meeting: Thursday 23 July 7pm Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1

New powers to prosecute war criminals living in UK

Four Rwandans suspected of genocide may face UK trials after loophole is closed
By Cahal Milmo, Chief Reporter
Wednesday, 8 July 2009

Vincent Bajinya, who is also known as Doctor Vincent Brown, Celestin Ugirashebuja and Emmanuel Nteziryayo were arrested in Britain 28 December 2006 after being accused of involvement in the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

Suspected mass murderers and war crimes suspects living in Britain, including four men accused of taking part in the Rwandan genocide, will face prosecution for the first time after the Government announced the closure of a loophole which had made the United Kingdom a haven from justice.

The Justice Secretary Jack Straw unveiled the biggest change in British laws covering crimes against humanity in 20 years, following an outcry over a High Court decision in April not to send four Rwandans resident in the UK back to their home country to face prosecution.

Under the proposals, the law which bars charges relating to any war crime, act of genocide or crime against humanity committed before 2001 will be changed to allow prosecutions for atrocities committed since 1 January 1991, including the Balkan wars and the 1994 conflict in Rwanda, in which 800,000 people were systematically exterminated.

Mr Straw said the change, which will be put before Parliament in the autumn, could lead to "tens" of alleged war criminals and "genocidaires" who have gained British passports or are resident in the UK facing trial in this country.

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Rwandan genocide on Lucid Magazine