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British Afghans doubt wisdom of attack
"Afghans in Britain voice concern" The Guardian (UK)
Afghans in Britain voice concern
London community doubts wisdom of attack
Jeevan Vasagar
Tuesday October 9, 2001
The Guardian (UK)http://www.guardian.co.uk/waronterror/story/0,1361,565977,00.html
Leaders of the Afghan community in Britain yesterday expressed anguish and outrage at the bombings. \"This is not a matter of being pro-Taliban or anti,\" said Sayed Tabibi, secretary general of the Society for Afghan Residents, based in Acton, west London. \"There are over 1m people living in Kabul. Every single family has got relatives back home.
\"This is why we are outraged. It is nothing to do with the political stance of one side or another. This is our country and it is being bombed.\" Uprooted by a series of conflicts from the Soviet invasion to the Taliban takeover, Britain\'s 40,000-strong Afghan community is drawn from a diverse background, encompassing Sunni and Shia Muslims as well as ethnic differences between Pashtuns from the south and Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazara tribes from the north.
Now their attention is focused on the humanitarian disaster. They questioned if the strikes would have any military effect on the Taliban.
\"That regime does not have a proper command structure like Iraq,\" said Mr Tabibi. \"Men armed with one Kalashnikov each can easily disperse among ordinary people. Afghans have not been engaged in any terrorist activity - it is all Arabs. Why are we getting the punishment?\"
Professor Abdul Ahmed Javid, a former vice-chancellor of Kabul university and one of many intellectuals to have fled the country, emphasised the awkward position faced by opponents of the Taliban.
\"It is a very difficult situation. From one point of view, this is my country and it has suffered for 20 years. But from the other point of view, we should get rid of these terrorist organisations which cause devastation; Osama bin Laden and the Taliban who harbour him. It\'s the people of Afghanistan who are the victims.\"
The majority of Britain\'s Afghans are settled in a stretch of suburban north-west London between Acton and Harrow, though the Home Office asylum seeker dispersal scheme means there are now also small communities in Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds.
At the Afghan Association of London, based in Harrow, a spokesman appealed to the international community to protect civilian lives.
\"The Afghan people have endured enough suffering, destruction and casualties in the past two and a half decades,\" he said.
The group also fears further racist assaults on Afghans in Britain, following the attack in London which left an Afghan taxi driver paralysed.
Police in Essex said yesterday that a fire lit by the door of a mosque was being treated as a racially motivated crime.
Damage to the front door of the mosque in Southend-on-Sea was discovered by worshippers attending morning prayers yesterday.
It is the second attack on the building since the terrorist attacks in the United States, but police said they were unable to confirm if the incidents were linked to the events of September 11.
Paint was thrown on the walls and windows smashed during the previous attack on the mosque last month.
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, the leader of the Muslim parliament, said the US should have given diplomatic efforts longer to take effect.
\"The first casualty of this attack has been the rule of law,\" he told BBC Radio 4\'s Today programme.
\"The Americans have lost their credibility. They had this opportunity to somehow recover the moral high ground. The only people who will be happy will be the American arms industry and oil companies. It\'s a very, very sad day.\"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In depth: attack on Afghanistan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
More 10/9/2001:
Afghans in Britain voice concern -UK: Afghan community leaders express anguish.
Audio: London\'s Afghan community outraged (2mins 57)
Blair goes on Arab TV to warn Muslims
Nervous Yard steps up armed guards
Anti-war groups widen protests
London community doubts wisdom of attack
Jeevan Vasagar
Tuesday October 9, 2001
The Guardian (UK)http://www.guardian.co.uk/waronterror/story/0,1361,565977,00.html
Leaders of the Afghan community in Britain yesterday expressed anguish and outrage at the bombings. \"This is not a matter of being pro-Taliban or anti,\" said Sayed Tabibi, secretary general of the Society for Afghan Residents, based in Acton, west London. \"There are over 1m people living in Kabul. Every single family has got relatives back home.
\"This is why we are outraged. It is nothing to do with the political stance of one side or another. This is our country and it is being bombed.\" Uprooted by a series of conflicts from the Soviet invasion to the Taliban takeover, Britain\'s 40,000-strong Afghan community is drawn from a diverse background, encompassing Sunni and Shia Muslims as well as ethnic differences between Pashtuns from the south and Tajiks, Uzbeks and Hazara tribes from the north.
Now their attention is focused on the humanitarian disaster. They questioned if the strikes would have any military effect on the Taliban.
\"That regime does not have a proper command structure like Iraq,\" said Mr Tabibi. \"Men armed with one Kalashnikov each can easily disperse among ordinary people. Afghans have not been engaged in any terrorist activity - it is all Arabs. Why are we getting the punishment?\"
Professor Abdul Ahmed Javid, a former vice-chancellor of Kabul university and one of many intellectuals to have fled the country, emphasised the awkward position faced by opponents of the Taliban.
\"It is a very difficult situation. From one point of view, this is my country and it has suffered for 20 years. But from the other point of view, we should get rid of these terrorist organisations which cause devastation; Osama bin Laden and the Taliban who harbour him. It\'s the people of Afghanistan who are the victims.\"
The majority of Britain\'s Afghans are settled in a stretch of suburban north-west London between Acton and Harrow, though the Home Office asylum seeker dispersal scheme means there are now also small communities in Birmingham, Glasgow and Leeds.
At the Afghan Association of London, based in Harrow, a spokesman appealed to the international community to protect civilian lives.
\"The Afghan people have endured enough suffering, destruction and casualties in the past two and a half decades,\" he said.
The group also fears further racist assaults on Afghans in Britain, following the attack in London which left an Afghan taxi driver paralysed.
Police in Essex said yesterday that a fire lit by the door of a mosque was being treated as a racially motivated crime.
Damage to the front door of the mosque in Southend-on-Sea was discovered by worshippers attending morning prayers yesterday.
It is the second attack on the building since the terrorist attacks in the United States, but police said they were unable to confirm if the incidents were linked to the events of September 11.
Paint was thrown on the walls and windows smashed during the previous attack on the mosque last month.
Ghayasuddin Siddiqui, the leader of the Muslim parliament, said the US should have given diplomatic efforts longer to take effect.
\"The first casualty of this attack has been the rule of law,\" he told BBC Radio 4\'s Today programme.
\"The Americans have lost their credibility. They had this opportunity to somehow recover the moral high ground. The only people who will be happy will be the American arms industry and oil companies. It\'s a very, very sad day.\"
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In depth: attack on Afghanistan
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.guardian.co.uk/
More 10/9/2001:
Afghans in Britain voice concern -UK: Afghan community leaders express anguish.
Audio: London\'s Afghan community outraged (2mins 57)
Blair goes on Arab TV to warn Muslims
Nervous Yard steps up armed guards
Anti-war groups widen protests
For more information:
http://www.afghan-web.com/aop/today.html
Add Your Comments
§The principal enemy
I "doubt the wisdom" too. How polite. Third World sisters and brothers, you have speak up. Nobody really thinks that the Taliban is a progressive force, but there is the question of the principal enemy. The US is now in the process of solidifying its global hegemony. Do you really think you are going to be better off under the US boot? Try it, Nicaragua has. Divide and conquer is an old weapon of empire. We need powerful secular movements against imperialism, but it may be time for some united fronts. Mao didn't like Chiang Kai -shek's politics or betrayals, but he knew he had to deal with him to defeat the Japanese.
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