NATO Commander Apologizes for Koran Disposal in Afghanistan

[RPK]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/22/w...ogizes-for-koran-disposal-in-afghanistan.html

KABUL, Afghanistan — Attempting to contain a violent reaction already gathering steam, the NATO commander in Afghanistan issued a fervent apology on Tuesday for foreign troops having “improperly disposed” of Korans and Islamic materials.


As protesters swelled in numbers at the gates of Bagram Air Base, where the incident occurred, Gen. John R. Allen released a statement apologizing to President Hamid Karzai and the Afghan people.

“ISAF personnel at Bagram Air Base improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans,” the statement said.

“When we learned of these actions, we immediately intervened and stopped them. The materials recovered will be properly handled by appropriate religious authorities.

“We are thoroughly investigating the incident and we are taking steps to ensure this does not ever happen again. I assure you ... I promise you ... this was NOT intentional in any way,” he said.

There were unsubstantiated reports circulating among the protesters of NATO personnel taking a load of Korans and starting to burn them.

What is clear is that Afghan employees on the base intervened to stop them, according to a report from an employee on the base and General Allen’s statement.

“I would like to thank the local Afghan people who helped us identify the error, and who worked with us to immediately take corrective action,” said the statement.

Previous incidents of desecration of the Koran have set off extremely violent reactions in Afghanistan. The last one, when a Florida pastor burned the Koran a year ago, triggered protests across the country, including an outburst in Mazar-e-Sharif where a crowd overran the United Nations compound and killed 12 people, including seven foreigners.

It is not clear how close the NATO personnel came to destroying the Korans, but one worker, Abdul Wahid, 25, said that at 11 p.m.: “American soldiers brought a pickup truck loaded with new copies of the Koran in its trunk and dropped it in burning pitch and set fire and started burning the Koran.”

Mr. Wahid said that he and two friends tried to stop the soldiers. “We said, ‘We will give it to our mullahs,’” he said.

Western officials said they did not believe that any Korans were actually set on fire, but that an investigation was under way and they would have information later Tuesday.

The crowd at Bagram, estimated at more than 2,000, shouting “Death to America” and “We don’t want them anymore.” according to witnesses who were reached by telephone. Witnesses said gunfire could be heard and security forces were firing rubber bullets.

Some in the crowd were singing Taliban songs and several Urdu speakers, described as Pakistanis, were making speeches to the crowd.

The protesters closed the district government building and stopped people attempting to come to the center of the city.

Western officials warned foreigners to stay at home.

“I offer my sincere apologies for any offense this may have caused, to the President of Afghanistan, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, and most importantly, to the noble people of Afghanistan,” General Allen’s statement said.

 

[Sher Malang]

Do whatever you want but don't hurt people's intentions.

 

[Majnun]

I don't understand the problem? The Quran is supposed to be burned not thrown away to be disposed of, right?

 

[Zarvan]

KABUL, Afghanistan – More than 2,000 angry Afghans rallied Tuesday against the inadvertent burning of Korans and other Islamic religious materials during trash disposal at an American air base. They demanded to meet the country's president over the issue and threatened to demonstrate again if their demand was not met.

U.S. Gen. John Allen, the top commander in Afghanistan, apologized and ordered an investigation into the incident, which he was "not intentional in any way."

The incident stoked anti-foreign sentiment that already is on the rise after nearly a decade of war in Afghanistan and fueled the arguments of Afghans who believe foreign troops are not respectful of their culture or Islamic religion.

Early Tuesday, as word of the incident spread, about 100 demonstrators gathered outside the sprawling Bagram Air Field, north of Kabul in Parwan province. As the crowd grew, so did the outrage.

"Die, die, foreigners!" the demonstrators shouted. Some fired hunting guns into the air. Others threw rocks at the gate of the base.

Ahmad Zaki Zahed, chief of the provincial council, said U.S. military officials took him to a burn pit on the base where 60 to 70 books, including Korans, were recovered. The books were used by detainees once incarcerated at the base, he said.

"Some were all burned. Some were half-burned," Zahed said, adding that he did not know exactly how many Korans, the Muslim holy book, had been burned.

Zahed said five Afghans working at the pit told him that the religious books were in the garbage that two soldiers with the U.S.-led coalition transported to the pit in a truck late Monday night. When they realized the books were in the trash, the laborers worked to recover them, he said.

"The laborers there showed me how their fingers were burned when they took the books out of the fire," he said.

Afghan Army Gen. Abdul Jalil Rahimi, the commander of a military coordination office in the province, said he and other officials met with protesters, tribal elders and clerics to try to calm their emotional response. "The protesters were very angry and didn't want to end their protest," he said.

One protester, Mohammad Hakim, said if U.S. forces can't bring peace to Afghanistan, they should go home.

"They should leave Afghanistan rather than disrespecting our religion, our faith," Hakim said. "They have to leave and if next time they disrespect our religion, we will defend our holy Koran, religion and faith until the last drop of blood has left in our body."

Later, however, the protesters ended the rally and said they would send 20 representatives from the group to Kabul to talk with Afghan parliamentarians and demanded a meeting with President Hamid Karzai, Rahimi said.

In a statement, Allen offered his apologies to the president and people of Afghanistan and thanked the local Afghans "who helped us identify the error, and who worked with us to immediately take corrective action."

"We are thoroughly investigating the incident and are taking steps to ensure this does not ever happen again," Allen said. "I assure you, I promise you, this was not intentional in any way."

The governor's office in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan called the incident a "shameful move by some stupid individuals."

Zia Ul Rahman, deputy provincial police chief, said between 2,000 and 2,500 protesters demonstrated at the base.

"The people are very angry. The mood is very negative," Rahman said while the rally was going on. "Some are firing hunting guns in the air, but there have been no casualties."

Police said a similar protest on Tuesday just east of Kabul ended peacefully.

In April 2011, Afghans protesting the burning of a Koran by a Florida pastor turned deadly when gunmen in the crowd stormed a U.N. compound in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif and killed three staffers and four Nepalese guards.

Separately, officials in Helmand province in the south said insurgents beheaded four people Sunday night in Washer district on the charge that they were spies.

"The militants told the local people that they were guilty because they were carrying satellite phones," provincial spokesman Daoud Ahmadi said.

Taliban spokesman Qari Yousef Ahmadi said that the militant group was not involved in the killings.

Also in the south, a NATO service member died Tuesday as a result of a non-battle related injury. The U.S. led coalition gave no further details about the death. So far this year, 44 NATO service members have been killed in Afghanistan.

Read more: NATO Commander Orders Probe Of 'improper' Disposal Of Large Number Of Islamic Religious Materials From Air Base | Fox News