Edelweiss
13th June 2002, 16:32
Massacre under Supervision of US
Documentary film producer proves mass murder and torture aimed at Afghan prisoners of war
by Wolfgang Pomrehn
November 2001 in the south-Afghan Kundus. Several thousand Taliban fighters offer embittered resistance to the troops of the northern alliance. Finally Amir Jhan, a local commander, negotiated the surrender, which takes place on 25 November. "We counted the prisoners. It was 8000. At Shebergan prison only 3015 arrived," tells the British journalist Jamie Doran.
What happened with the rest of them? Footage, which Doran presented to the press for the first time on Wednesday in Berlin says otherwise: Apparently up to 3000 of the missed ones were killed by the victorious troops, under the watchful eye of American soldiers in December. Doran has filmed in Afghanistan under most difficult conditions from November to April. He has among other things interviewed involved drivers, who showed his co-worker a mass grave in the desert at Dasht i Leili. Pieces of clothing rise up out of the sand, some bones lie about. Obviously, thus says Doran, dogs would have dug some corpses out of the ground. In addition, he has safe information that the proofs of these crimes are to be destroyed, and demands that the discovery site for the hearing of evidence becomes secured.
According to the statements, which Doran collected, the expiration presents itself as follows: About 400 of those arrested in Kundus were brought into the nearby fortress Kaala i Dschangi. There soon occurred a prisoner rebellion, which was bloodily struck down. Doran reports what footage he had already shown at that time: Many of the dead ones were bound around the hands.
The bulk of the prisoners were collected in and close to the fortress Kaala i Seini in the meantime, in order to be loaded into containers there. A procedure which many not survived: "I fired at the container, in order to create holes for the ventilation. Some of those on the inside were killed. Then we sent the containers on to Sheberghan ," states a soldier in Doran's film. Other eye-witnesses report how they saw blood seeping from the containers. Later from the prison in Sheberghan a part of the prisoner transports were sent into the desert, probably so that the corpses in the containers would not come under the eyes of journalists. But not all container passengers were already dead when they arrive at Dasht i Leili. Doran presents two eyewitnesses, which state that several hundred prisoners of war, who were not yet suffocated, shot or died of thirst were executed in the desert. Under the watchful eyes of "30 to 40 American soldiers," as a driver reports.
Doran also submits dramatic statements from the prison at Sheberghan: "I was witness, as an American soldier broke a prisoner the neck and poured acid over others,"a soldier states in front of the camera. Another reports of cutting off fingers and tongues. All of his witnesses, avowed Doran in relation to the press on Wednesday, are ready to state before an international tribunal.
Meanwhile the Netherlands parliament reacted with indignation to a bill of the US government, that says that the USA can intervene with military means, should citizens of the United States be accused at the international criminal court. Which is to take up its work on 1 July at the Hague.
First published by German newspaper Junge Welt (http://www.jungewelt.de).
http://www.jungewelt.de/2002/06-13/001.php
Translated using Babelfish (http://babelfish.altavista.com), revised.
Documentary film producer proves mass murder and torture aimed at Afghan prisoners of war
by Wolfgang Pomrehn
November 2001 in the south-Afghan Kundus. Several thousand Taliban fighters offer embittered resistance to the troops of the northern alliance. Finally Amir Jhan, a local commander, negotiated the surrender, which takes place on 25 November. "We counted the prisoners. It was 8000. At Shebergan prison only 3015 arrived," tells the British journalist Jamie Doran.
What happened with the rest of them? Footage, which Doran presented to the press for the first time on Wednesday in Berlin says otherwise: Apparently up to 3000 of the missed ones were killed by the victorious troops, under the watchful eye of American soldiers in December. Doran has filmed in Afghanistan under most difficult conditions from November to April. He has among other things interviewed involved drivers, who showed his co-worker a mass grave in the desert at Dasht i Leili. Pieces of clothing rise up out of the sand, some bones lie about. Obviously, thus says Doran, dogs would have dug some corpses out of the ground. In addition, he has safe information that the proofs of these crimes are to be destroyed, and demands that the discovery site for the hearing of evidence becomes secured.
According to the statements, which Doran collected, the expiration presents itself as follows: About 400 of those arrested in Kundus were brought into the nearby fortress Kaala i Dschangi. There soon occurred a prisoner rebellion, which was bloodily struck down. Doran reports what footage he had already shown at that time: Many of the dead ones were bound around the hands.
The bulk of the prisoners were collected in and close to the fortress Kaala i Seini in the meantime, in order to be loaded into containers there. A procedure which many not survived: "I fired at the container, in order to create holes for the ventilation. Some of those on the inside were killed. Then we sent the containers on to Sheberghan ," states a soldier in Doran's film. Other eye-witnesses report how they saw blood seeping from the containers. Later from the prison in Sheberghan a part of the prisoner transports were sent into the desert, probably so that the corpses in the containers would not come under the eyes of journalists. But not all container passengers were already dead when they arrive at Dasht i Leili. Doran presents two eyewitnesses, which state that several hundred prisoners of war, who were not yet suffocated, shot or died of thirst were executed in the desert. Under the watchful eyes of "30 to 40 American soldiers," as a driver reports.
Doran also submits dramatic statements from the prison at Sheberghan: "I was witness, as an American soldier broke a prisoner the neck and poured acid over others,"a soldier states in front of the camera. Another reports of cutting off fingers and tongues. All of his witnesses, avowed Doran in relation to the press on Wednesday, are ready to state before an international tribunal.
Meanwhile the Netherlands parliament reacted with indignation to a bill of the US government, that says that the USA can intervene with military means, should citizens of the United States be accused at the international criminal court. Which is to take up its work on 1 July at the Hague.
First published by German newspaper Junge Welt (http://www.jungewelt.de).
http://www.jungewelt.de/2002/06-13/001.php
Translated using Babelfish (http://babelfish.altavista.com), revised.