Afghan lawmakers shut down parliament in protest, demand restrictions on foreign military forces

May 10, 2009

Kabul - Afghan lawmakers walked out of parliament on Monday to protest the latest civilian casualties at the hands of US-led forces, calling on the Afghan government to regulate the activities of foreign forces in the country. After debating for several hours on what the country's parliament could do to prevent civilian deaths in NATO's anti-Taliban operations, the members of the lower house of parliament closed for half a day to protest the more than 100 civilians killed in western Afghanistan in recent days.

"In the resolution of the lower house, we asked the government to send us, within a week, a comprehensive plan to regulate the presence and activities of the foreign forces in the country," Abdul Satar Khawasi, secretary for the lower house, said.

"There should be a law and if the foreign soldiers violate it, they should be prosecuted in Afghanistan by that law. But, so far, we don't have such a law," he said.

He said some of the legislators suggested closing the parliament, "because if we and the government can't protect the people of this country, there is no need for the existence."

read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/268304,afghan-lawmakers-demand-restrictions-on-foreign-military-forces.html


related:

Karzai very serious on ending air raids - official

Karzai, who went on U.S. television to demand an end to all air attacks, has put the death toll at up to 130 people. If his figure is confirmed, it would be the biggest such case of Western forces killing civilians since they invaded in 2001.

His plea was rejected by White House National Security Advisor James Jones, who said the United States could not be expected to fight "with one hand tied behind our back".

"We demand a complete end to the bombardment of our villages ... and we are very serious about it," said presidential spokesman Siymak Herawi, when asked about Jones's comments.

read more: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/268304,afghan-lawmakers-demand-restrictions-on-foreign-military-forces.html

K&R (sadly)

:sarcasm:

...from whose teat he is suckling...

...What a fucking dreadful mess * has created...

Karzai very, very serious on ending air raids

And for each month after that add another "very".

. . . but it would be a mistake to dismiss that as some kind of complicity. There's a real conflict of purposes between the Afghan regime and American interests which is escalating and surfacing in these public displays of pique.

. . . maybe they'll just go away.


from Reuters: http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/ISL367759.htm

Debate about innocent casualties dominated the morning's session and the delegates said they had given the government one week to come up with a way of regulating foreign fighters.

"To prevent the bombardment and killing of our people, the Wolesi Jirga (lower house) has decided the government must come up with a plan, within one week, to regulate the foreign forces," said Wolesi Jirga secretary Abdul Sattar Khawaasi.

"This is no longer bearable...the activities of foreign forces, their presence must be legalised. When a foreign soldier acts contrary to the law of Afghanistan, he should be prosecuted according to Afghanistan's law," Khawaasi told Reuters.

"If the president can not stop the killings of the innocents, how can the people trust their government or the president, and take part in the election," lawmaker Mohammad Moin Marastyal, who represents Kunduz province in Northern Afghanistan, told Reuters.

"There would be uprisings against foreign forces ... It will be the biggest problem for the presence of the international community if they do not avoid the killing of innocent people."