Saturday, September 23, 2006

The NDP Wants To Negotiate with This?

I will not profess to have compiled this myself but have, in fact, lifted these from various other sources. In the face of various comments made lately by "Taliban Jack" Layton (this is his new nickname within the Canadian Forces, the ones he says he supports), and the NDP's descent into some of the worst practices (taking quotes out of context to support their cause) I thought it might be useful to take a look at the very people he wants Canada to negotiate with.

Amnesty International - Afghanistan - Feb 28, 2001

Massacres in Yakaolang

For several days Taleban forces massacred over 300 unarmed men and a number of civilian women and children. The victims were either summarily executed or deliberately killed.

Eyewitnesses told Amnesty International: "Some people in Kata Khana ran to the mosque for shelter thinking the Taleban would respect the sanctity of the mosque, but they were wrong!" They said they saw Taleban guards deliberately firing two rockets at the mosque where some 73 women, children and elderly men had taken shelter. The building collapsed on them but the Taleban guards would not allow anyone to go to their rescue for three days, by which time all those in the mosque had died except for two small children.

More on link

Amnesty International - Afghanistan - Feb 28, 1999

Detention and killing of political personalities

Up to 200 Afghan political personalities have been arrested in the past year apparently on account of their peaceful political activities and opposition to the continued armed conflict in the country. Those arrested include Afghan intellectuals, community leaders, former army officers or civil servants. The vast majority of the detainees are reportedly non-combatants arrested solely for their activities in support of peace and a broad based government in Afghanistan. Most of these detainees have reportedly been severely tortured. Over a dozen of them have been killed after their arrest. Some of the detainees have been released but as of February 1999, around 100 still remain in detention.

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Amnesty International - Afghanistan Mar 31, 1998

Flagrant abuse of the right to life and dignity

In recent months, at least five men convicted of sodomy by Taleban Shari'a courts have been placed next to standing walls by Taleban officials and then buried under the rubble as the walls were toppled upon them. At least four alleged murderers have been executed in public by the family members of the murdered persons. At least five men have had their hands amputated on allegation of theft, and at least one man and one woman have been flogged by Taleban officials on allegation of adultery.

More on link

Amnesty International - Afghanistan Aug 31, 1997

Continuing atrocities against civilians

Amnesty International has recently received testimonies from the survivors of a massacre in the Afghan village of Qezelabad, near the northern city of Mazar-e Sharif. These testimonies reveal that about 70 civilians, including women and children were deliberately and arbitrarily killed on 14 September by armed Taleban guards as they were retreating from some of the positions they had captured in the area. All of the victims reportedly belonged to the Hazara minority which in recent years has frequently been targeted by the Taleban.

More on link


Amnesty International - Afghanistan May 31, 1997

Women in Afghanistan: The violations continue

...
Taleban restrictions imposed on women deny them some of their most basic and fundamental human rights, including the right to freedom of association, freedom of expression and employment. Similar restrictions imposed by any other group would equally amount to a violation of these rights;
Women in Taleban controlled areas of Afghanistan continue to be beaten by Taleban guards for defying orders about dress or for working outside their home;
Women detained or otherwise physically resticted under Taleban codes solely by reason of their gender would be considered by AI to be prisoners of conscience.

More on Link

BBC - 22 September 2006
Afghan workers killed in ambush

Nineteen construction workers have been killed in southern Afghanistan when their bus was hit by a bomb and then fired on by insurgents, officials say.

And the NDP spin? The Reality Check section on their website uses the Quote

"Bombings in Afghanistan are no solution to the Taliban. You do not destroy terrorism by bombing villages. You do not destroy terrorism by launching military operations in areas where only the symptoms have emerged."

—Afghan President Hamid Karzai, speaking at the U.S. Council on Foreign Relations, CBC Newsworld, 21 September 2006


Not sure what reality is to them though as they also left out the part of the speech where Karzai also says

cooperating with terrorists is like "trying to train a snake against somebody else."

"You cannot train a snake. It will come and bite you," he said.


The NDP website also says
Given Karzai's stern condemnation of the military operation today, it's clear that the highest levels of the Afghan government are less supportive of this unbalanced military mission than the Conservatives are letting on.


These comments do not seem to match the reality shown by various media out lets such as Karzai praises Canada as 'model' for world, Karzai: Canada's military presence "is a must",
Karzai thanks Canadians for support or Canada gave its word on Afghan undertaking

Have a look and see if you can spot the "stern condemnation".

The real reality check came from Conservative MP Jason Kenney during question period in the House of Commons. Responding to NDP Leader Jack Layton's questioning of the government's commitment to balance its efforts in Afghanistan he said

“Mr. Speaker, let me say the NDP says they're in favour of multilateralism, but they want to pull out of Afghanistan unilaterally,” he said.

“They say they're in favour of the United Nations, but they're against our participation in the world's most important UN Mission. They say they're in favour of peace and development, but they don't want protection so that we can do civil reconstruction and development.”


That's the reality!

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