THE DIRTY WAR OF THE TALIBAN

http://www.studio-aeiou.com/taliban/ ^ | September 1999

[WIMom]

The following document is the testimony of personalities who, from September 1^st through September 6th 1999 visited the Panshir valley in Afghanistan. These persons, by moral duty, by humanitarian duty, wish to relate the facts and events they gathered.

During their stay, they all were allowed to move freely, question the civil population, the refugees, and the prisoners.

The Panshir region, in the northern part of Afghanistan, since the attack of the Taliban in July, received over 150.000 refugees coming mainly from the Shamali plain. Those refugees flee the fights and the exaction of t the Taliban, leaving behind their fields, their livestock, their homes...

Almost 40.000 people live in drastic conditions, without food, without shelter, living under trees, or in tents.

Cholera has broken out, several children are suffering from malnutrition, others are dead and the sanitary situation is extremely alarming for the entire population.

The witnesses, the stories that we got freely from women, children, men show that the Taliban and their Pakistanis allies are running a dirty war in Afghanistan.

This war reveals :

• Kidnapping of women and children, more than 2.000 women are imprisoned in the former Russian embassy in Kabul and are under the sway of the Taliban.
• Various children are been kidnapped and sent away by truck
• Men are either tortured, either killed, either imprisoned
• Most of the families questioned, talk about the missing, the killings and the kidnappings.
• Fields and plantations are destroyed and livestock is killed
• Houses are being burnt and looted.

It is obvious and indisputable that the Taliban army is undergoing the policy of burning fields, aiming a racial purification against Persian speaking population.

These statements were systematically verified and confirmed.

Civilians and refugees are bombed. On Saturday 4^th of September, we witnessed two bombings in Barazak.

Contrarily to Taliban chiefs’ assertions, the afghan conflict is not a civil war. Pakistan and other countries are providing a political and material support to the Taliban.

We were able to question several Pakistani, Yemenite, Birmanese, Chinese prisoners. Students of Coranic schools, they were sent to Kabul to fight the Infidels.

Mostly aged from 18 to 25, they are used as "bullet baits". The officering of Pakistanis is actual; a Pakistan major instructor is detained in Barazak’s prison.

Furthermore, according to humanitarian organizations, Pakistan airforce is supporting Talibans’ offensive (especially with F16).

Civilians’ situation is critical in Panshir. Even if Commandant Massoud governmental troops keep on standing, at the oncoming of Hindu-Kouch mountains severe winter, living is extremely difficult : 40.000 lives are threatened.

Today, in Afghanistan, there are thousands reported missing, and thousands of women and children enslaved by Taliban…

The afghan conflict is neither local war nor an ethnical war; it is a geopolitical conflict, where a fraction of Islamic extremists, backed up and equipped by Pakistan is aiming to take control of that zone.

This fraction maintains and protects Islamic terrorists such as Ben Laden, and insures drug production, drug-traffic, which finances the purchase of weapons.

Taliban troops, Taliban chiefs violate undoubtedly fundamental human rights, humanity universal values.

They are proceeding with their dirty war, terrorizing civilians, politically exterminating. Those acts have been checked, verified and confirmed.

Therefore, for truth to prevail, for human sake, we made it a point of duty to publish this report.

We want to denounce the dirty war of the Taliban ; we want to warn political groups, political leaders, media, of harms done by Taliban to women, children, human rights.

• We are pleading to the general public, intellectuals, governments, and European community, to exert pressure on foreign powers supporting Taliban chiefs.
• We are appealing to solidarity for humanitarian organizations to take a more active part in Panshir.
• We are appealing to the population to assist the afghan people by sending donations (money or clothes).
• We are pleading to democracies to support Commandant Massoud ‘s resistance, who is the only one to guarantee essential values in Afghanistan.

SIGNATORIES:

Alain MADELIN: French Deputy, French Former Minister

Brice LALONDE: French Former Minister

Victor ROBERT: Journalist

Laurent HAMIDA: Journalist

Jean Paul FISCHER: Observant

Ashmat FROZ: Accompanist

Solidarité Panshir

B.P. 550

75667 PARIS CEDEX 14

CCP PARIS

Account number : 0000022E020 — RIP : 07

Bank number : 30041

Branch number : 00001