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Tales from the Road – AMAZING IDAHO

Robert Maier — 2017-09-12T17:33:20Z

Amazing Idaho

I spent the night outside the Donner Pass town of Truckee. After 12 days on the California coast, it was surprising to see there was still plenty of snow in late June. I took the sharp right north on I-80 into Nevada—past Reno, Fernley, and landed in God-forsaken Winnemucca, where I stayed in one of the hemisphere's ugliest RV parks.

After dinner at possibly the greasiest Mexican restaurant ever, I walked through downtown, which had the saddest little strip of casinos in the hemisphere. I went into one that was, with a fistful of quarters, but saw that slots the machines had gone boring digital with credit card thingies for money. Plus, as with everything digital, they had a million choices, and I had no idea how they worked. Gone was the satisfaction of plunking in a quarter, pulling the arm, coaxing the spinning wheels, and hearing 3-4 or 100 quarters jangle into the metal coin tray, like little bells from heaven.

No fun there. The handful of players scattered around the dark rooms were mostly grim-faced solitary middle-aged women pulling on cigarettes and sipping raspberry vodkas.

This stretch of I-80 is desolation row, passing ghost towns like Battle Mountain, Beowave, Golconda and Valmy. Then you zoom by the little city of Elko, which according to Wikipedia “is also home to legal prostitutes and contains active brothels. Several geothermal features are located in Elko, the largest of which is the Elko Hot Hole.” In winter, you can ski for $20.

About 80 miles from Elko, at the only town in the West with two Flying J's on the same exit, I turned north onto US 93 North. One of the great American desert highways, it runs mostly two lanes for 1,457 lonesome miles from Phoenix to Canada, crossing five Interstate Highways, and passing hundreds of ghost (or nearly) towns.

On the border, there is Jackpot, Nevada, which has a 15 story hotel ‘convention center' that lures gamblers from Twins Falls, Idaho to this D-grade border sin city.

Then, the West blossoms into Idaho, which has some of America's most bizarre natural features. Craters of the Moon National Park, St. Anthony Dunes, and the back end of the Rockies. The ghost towns and sleazy casino villages of Nevada are replaced by refreshing views, lakes, and electric green fields of wheat and potatoes, and Nuclear Reactors.

A bit further up the Road, I passed a little time with this vagabond couple at a Flying J in Twins Falls (they were thumbing their way to Vermont).

Idaho has its share of lonely roads, if you like to feel alone in the world.

And one of the most bizarre sights in the USA, Craters of the Moon National Monument. Hundreds of square miles of volcanic cinders line the road. The most recent flows were just 2,000 years ago. Not a place to be barefoot.

Idaho was one of the most surprising places, I've ever been, but the potatoes I had weren't the best, and they're not promoted much. But then again where will you find a landscape that looks like a herd of dinosaurs just took a dump.

Taliban tactics against journalist by North Carolina police

Robert Maier — 2013-08-18T18:09:03Z

I was disturbed by a story today covering reporter Tim Funk's arrest in the Raleigh, North Carolina Capitol Building last June 10. As English Pages editor of Kabulpress.org, I am very familiar with illegal treatment of journalists. I work with a dozen journalists from Afghanistan who have been threatened, beaten, given death sentences for their writings, and jailed for months. Several were murdered because of their professional work. All of these actions are forbidden by statutes and the Afghan constitution, yet they occur with terrible regularity. Tim's arrest is a warning that similar things could happen here.

In the past few days, several journalists were killed in Egypt, and today's Observer also detailed threats from officials against two women McClatchy reporters there.
This is a serious issue, and while, perhaps, journalists and publishers in the US feel safer than their counterparts in Afghanistan and Egypt, the problem, even in North Carolina, may be more severe than it appears in your story. Also, the remedy you seek may be woefully insufficient.

For example, noted journalist, Amy Goodman, editor of Democracy Now, and several of her reporting team were arrested at the 2008 RNC convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul. They were roughly handled, slightly injured, and jailed for many hours with no outside contact allowed. A judge dismissed all charges.
Goodman and her colleagues sued the local authorities, won the case, and were awarded $100,000 in damages. The judge ordered the police departments to institute a training course to instruct officers in first amendment rights, and how to legally treat journalists during demonstrations.

Perhaps Tim and The Observer should proceed in the same way.
It's amazing that your attorney, Wade Smith said only, "It seemed to me that they cast a net and caught someone they shouldn't have. It may be that they just weren't thinking about it." Nice, polite thought, but I watched the video several times, and Funk's arrest was personally conducted by Police Chief Jeff Weaver, who was fully informed of Funk's occupation, and blatantly ignored it in a peaceful, non-threatening situation.

Wade's second quote "(he) hopes in the future that they will realize a journalist has a very important role to play," sounds like kindergarten teacher sending a child to a corner for quiet time. If the Chief of Police acts like an ignorant rookie cop, he should be soundly disciplined or replaced. To ensure public trust, excessive and illegal police action must be called out and corrected.

You say you and the NCPA "stand ready to meet" with the legislature police. That's a good step, but sounds mighty weak response to the actions of people like Police Chief Weaver. I hope that you, Tim, and the Observer will take the same steps that Amy Goodman did to protect the First Amendment, and file a suit to protect you and all other NC journalists. You must do more than write an article an "stand ready to meet." Those solutions did not go very far in Minneapolis, as the judge there plainly agreed, with his financial penalty and instructional orders.

Film Review: “The Iran Job”

Robert Maier — 2013-07-20T20:00:30Z

“The Iran Job,” is that wonderful kind of documentary that sheds a contrary light on the echo chamber of “common sense” that dominates American media and culture. Of course, Iran is an evil place. They are trying to build nuclear weapons. They hate America because we are a free society. They are religious fanatics. Case closed.

These beliefs permeate our “scareocracy,” even though a little research shows a different truth. Iran has a huge young population that yearns to be free of its repressive government. Just two years ago, there was violent revolution in its streets, sadly extinguished by a well-armed Iranian military.

The frustrated youth haven't been defeated, they've just gone underground. The most up-to-date news from Iran is hopeful. A new more moderate president was recently chosen, probably due to fear of the legions of unemployed and frustrated youth who could force a collapse similar to its neighbor, Syria.

Iran is a simmering cauldron, but the lid is shut tight, so not much information gets out. That is why “The Iran Job” is such a unique film. It shows that Iran's repressive brand of Islam is not a fearful monolith. Its youth, and especially women, are fed up. Iran has a surprising share of rock ‘n rollers, free-thinkers, and women fervently pursuing education and power. When Iranian artists escape the clutches of the fundamentalists, they create astonishing works of art in music, cinema, literature, dance—even cuisine. 5,000 years ago, Persia (Iran) had a written alphabet, number system, and money. It was the cradle of civilization.

So, here we have “The Iran Job,” where an American basketball player, Kevin Sheppard, is recruited to play in an Iranian pro league, and allows a German camera crew to secretly follow him on his awakening walk through the cradle of civilization. He is obviously an exceptionally brave and curious person, and what he found was a culture bursting with love for America, and especially two precocious young women delighted to guide him through their proud, but sympathetic culture.

This kind of documentary turns your world upside down. It rebels against the autocrats and haters on all sides. It turns the very idea of “bomb Iran” into a reptilian nightmare of shame. It offers rays of hope that we can get along just fine with a little direct human-to-human communication, unfiltered by self-serving pundits, hypocritical scolds, and power-hungry officials.

Yes, the Iranian government forbade the filming, and yes, the U.S. government pressed charges against Sheppard for violating its embargo on doing business with Iran. See this movie, if you want to relish this irony.

Robert Maier's website

Sahar Parniyan, forced to go into hiding symbolizes plight of Afghan women and neglect of the West

Robert Maier — 2012-10-11T20:53:23Z

The case of Sahar Parniyan, the young Afghan actress who recently had to go into hiding in Kabul highlights the worsening situation for women in Afghanistan. Three of Sahar's actress colleagues were assaulted and stabbed in a back alley while they were attempting to flee to a safer home a few weeks ago. One died. The others are in prison for suspected “immoral acts,” primarily because the lived in the same home, without men, and worked on a TV series that was critical of Karzai's government. Women actresses across Afghanistan are being threatened with the same, including Sahar,one of Afghanistan's leading actresses.

In the meantime, she is at risk from Taliban agents and she must remain in hiding with no financial support.
Sahar's career as an actress is over. If she becomes a refugee, sent to a new culture where she knows no one, to learn a new language from scratch, and be lucky to find a job washing dishes or cleaning bathrooms for years until she receives an education.
With this role model, it is no wonder that women see little future for building lives in Afghanistan.
Selay Ghaffar, chief executive of the Kabul-based NGO Humanitarian Assistance for the Women and Children of Afghanistan, says many young women are leaving. "They see no future for themselves in Afghanistan so the bright ones are seeking scholarships or work abroad. We have had two schools for girls burned down near the capital in recent days, acid attacks on girls going to school, increasing stories of rape and of kidnap.
"Many NGOs who try to help women have been killed. Billions of dollars from international organisations have been poured into Afghanistan and ended up in the pockets of male politicians, while women are left to feel insecure in their own land. For those who cannot leave, it is sending them back into the home; many women are deciding to stop work.
"During the first few years after international troops entered the country a lot of things changed in Afghanistan," she said. "There was positive progress and change in the day-to-day lives of many Afghan women. Unfortunately, since 2007, things changed dramatically as insecurity has increased [and] discrimination against women at all levels has increased. Life has become more difficult for women but they are not willing to be pushed back into the box.
"Why should all the plans for the future of Afghanistan ignore half of its population?"
Perhaps the greatest gift the US could give Afghan women is 50,000 visas to the US, including free plane tickets on chartered 747s from Kabul to Kansas. Show up at the Kabul airport, and you've got a place. This might startle the Talibs and other Afghan fundamentalist thugs into realizing their grave errors.
Sadly, the U.S. has bungled billions of dollars on hi-tech weapons, military installations that will be turned over to Karzai's cronies and other al Quaeda supporters and thousands of maimed American families. Re-settling 50,000 resourceful, hard-working Afghan women would have been a great alternative, and maybe brought Afghan men to their senses enough to apologize and beg for the return of their better halves.

Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama throwing democracy's best friends in Afghanistan under the bus

Mohammad Amin Wahidi , Robert Maier — 2011-05-10T13:05:00Z

Updated/ 5/10/2011: Kuchi Taliban are preparing for new attack on Hazara people.

Tuesday 25 May 2010, by M. Amin Wahidi, Robert Maier

Afghan President, Hamid Karzai recently returned from a red-carpet visit to the U.S., but the Hazaras apparently were never mentioned. No wonder, since Afghan National Army units have been seen assisting the Taliban-backed Kuchi in their violent looting, and forced removals from the Hazara's rightful lands in Behsood and Daimirdad.

A Kochie nomad in Behsood

Several weeks ago, an organized and well-armed Kochie nomads, probably assisted by Afghan-government supported Taliban fighters secreted over the Pakistani border, wrecked farms, burned homes, murdered men, women and children, and killed livestock in the Hazara heartland. This attack, now becoming an annual occurrence has been virtually neglected by the English language press.

Kabul

Demonstrations in Kabul, other areas of Afghanistan, and various foreign capitals, have tried to focus international attention on this assault, which reveals some of the most negative aspects of the West-supported Karzai administration. However the U.S. Military and State Department evidently don't want to hear it, because it doesn't fit their fantasy script for Afghanistan. Kabulpress.org's postings calling attention to the situation on ISAF/NATO and U.S. State Department Facebook pages have been deleted.

Behsood: Hazars home

Given the many billions of dollars and lives destroyed or interrupted in the West's military and civilian efforts to bring peace and justice to Afghanistan, the history and facts in this case bear intense scrutiny.

The Drug Cartel and Ethnic Discrimination in Afghanistan

Afghanistan has faced social and political crises for decades. It has been occupied for eight years by international armies and consultants, but Afghanistan's structure is still very fragile, so even the slightest, unexpected event could destroy it.

Most of the unsolved problems are the product of issues like poverty, illiteracy, and instability. They have resulted from discrimination and injustice by Afghanistan's various governments. However, deliberate actions by the Afghan government have increased the problems.

There is substantial ethnic discrimination and corruption in Afghanistan's administration, which is sanctioned by teams assembled by President Karzai, himself. There is no apparent effort to solve this problem. The government lacks accountability and responsibility. Efforts by the international community are met by official roadblocks, so their work is severely hampered. Even Afghanistan's military partners are not to be trusted by NATO forces.

Afghanistan's Eastern and Southern provinces have become the exclusive domain of drug lords and their opium poppy plantations. This problem increases daily, because senior government officials, including provincial governors appointed by the president and the president's family members, lead Afghanistan's drug cartel. Therefore, despite the government's claims, there are few, if any, serious efforts made by the government to eradicate opium cultivation. Even President Karzai's brother is seriously implicated in Southern Afghanistan's drug empire.

Behsood: Hazaras land

Additionally, Taliban insurgents fortify themselves using drug money earned in their partnership with the government. The drug money finances the fight against the people of Afghanistan and the international community, which then increases the need for troops in our country, and enables a longer and larger disruptive military presence. This sucks up money that should be used to improve infrastructure, support education, grow an honest judiciary, create seed money for small businesses, and provide urgently needed medical care.

The anti-drug cartel Hazaras

Of all Afghan regions, the central highlands of the country, the Hazarajaat, has been the most peaceful, and therefore somewhat ignored by the soldiers and NGOs. Its people are primarily farmers and livestock herders and have cooperated with the government and international agencies in the democratizationof the country. Its current governor is the first woman governor in the history of Afghanistan.
These people, instead of cultivating opium to support terrorism and war, have been planting wheat, vegetables, and potatoes to develop products needed by Afghanistan to build an honest, democratic economy.

Behsood: Hazaras School

Because of its peaceful, cooperative attitude, the Hazarajaat shows great potential for attracting reconstruction and re-development efforts and money. But unfortunately Karzai's government has discriminated against the Hazarajaat. For example, the reconstruction of the Kabul-Bamyan-Herat highway, promised by the Karzai government, which could improve tourism and shorten distances between the western provinces, the central highlands, and Kabul, has not been implemented after almost four years.

The ancient site of Bamyan with its cultural, historical and natural treasures is capable of luring travelers from all around the world, even though its famous Buddahs were blown up by the Taliban in 2001. However it has not been re-constructed, nor has its infrastructure been properly developed, which hinders tourism development in this comparatively peaceful part of the country.

Imposing war against the Hazaras

The Hazaras in Afghanistan are great supporters of democracy and social justice, because they are tools to help eliminate the discrimination they, as a people, have suffered for too many years. Among the Hazaras, education and freedom for women, involvement of women in social and political issues, and literacy for all, are being pursued more ambitiously than in any other part of Afghanistan.
This openness has marked them by autocratic fundamentalists throughout Central Asia and certain Arab countries as Afghanistan's historic victims who have suffered discrimination, oppression, torture, obligatory displacements, and genocide for at least for one and half centuries.

Bamian

The Taliban always considered the Hazaras to be one of their main enemies. Under Taliban rule, the Hazaras faced genocide for the second time in modern history. This genocide was a continuation of the same genocide they faced in 1880s and 90s by Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, the Pashtoon tyrant king who killed 62 % of the Hazara population and forced many to flee to neighboring countries.
The Hazaras have always opposed the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan's political arena, but since the Karzai administration needs the Taliban's ethnic support, the return of the Taliban is continually supported by the government. The vigorous opposition of the Hazaras to this policy explains the administration's on-going anti-Hazara discrimination.

Given the basic ethnic tribal structure of Afghanistan, it is essential for the government to assist and unite every ethnic group to create a strong, just nation.

The Karzai administration, has failed in this unification effort. However, to fortify its power, it has adopted a policy of impunity for the Taliban, in support of the Pashtoons. This occurs, despite five years of crimes against humanity the Taliban have committed since the arrival of coalition forces.

The Taliban, who should have been prosecuted and tried for war crimes, are shielded by the current Afghan government. It encourages the international military in Afghanistan to fight Taliban insurgents. On the other hand, it allocates large sums of money to the “forgiveness commission,” which releases Taliban from prison and pays them large amounts of money as compensation. The released Taliban misuse these favors, then return to the front lines to battle against the government, Afghan civilians, and coalition soldiers.

This is not the end of the traitorous deals. The government also supports the Taliban's opium production with drug-related deals involving senior governmental officials including family members of the president in Kandahar. These people get rich off the drug trade, and when it finally blows up in their face, will escape to their villas in the Mediterranean, California, New York, and the Washington, D.C. suburbs, protected by big bank accounts in Switzerland, the US and Dubai.

Next year's presidential and parliamentary elections are forcing the Karzai administration to seek Taliban support, while encouraging ethnic conflict to distract normally peaceful, democratic regions from the electoral process.

Behsood Kochie nomads

Taliban attacks on Hazaras in the name of the Kochies (nomads) Within last two to three years, using the name of The Kochies (Nomads) the Taliban have begin their attacks on Hazarajaat by the support of specific senior governmental officials within the Karzai administration team as a result they have killed people and livestock, burnt many houses, schools, and forced thousands of people including the women, the elderly and children to obligatory displacement in Behsood district Maidan Wardak province.

Who are the Kochies (nomads)?

The Kochies or the “nomads” are the poor and unfortunate people who have been kept illiterate and vagabond for years and years by Pashtoon politicians and are often misused for political purposes by them, even if these purposes harm the identity and the reputation of the Kochies.

During 1880s and 90s when the Hazaras faced genocide and obligatory displacement by Abdul Rahman Khan the tyrant king, he used the Kochies to pressure the Hazaras and issued a decree that permitted Kochies to be armed with guns and pistols. He also granted them the right to use Hazara land for summer grazing their animals.
This has caused the Hazaras substantial agricultural and economic loss every year since. During the Taliban rule, these nomads, using the power and influence of the Taliban even received taxes from Hazarajaat.

This agricultural land had been the only livelihood of the Hazaras for hundreds of years. And it had been taken without compensation by an armed group—as a genocidal tool, against all international human rights conventions. Thinly covered Hazara lands cannot sustain nomadic over-grazing.

Disadvantages of nomadic life style for modern Afghanistan

We live in the twenty-first century, in 2010 when the world is rapidly advancing. Nomadic life that descends upon settled communities with armed violence, disrespect of law, and abuse of resources only hinders the improvement in the quality of life sought by productive, settled communities seeking the rule of law, not the AK-47.

Afghanistan currently suffers from the empowerment of religious extremists fueled by waves of violent insurgents over Pakistan's weak border. The Kochis are supported and encouraged by these foreign insurgents to attack the more progressive Hazaras, adding to the already unstable situation in Afghanistan. The uncontrolled ravaging of the Hazara grazing lands also creates major environmental problems of erosion and loss of an important natural resource to Afghanistan.
It is time for the disarmament of the Kochies, which is the law for other Afghan ethnic groups. Article no. 22 of the Afghan constitution prohibits any discrimination and distinction among Afghan citizens, and says that all share the same rights and responsibilities according to law.

It is time to seek a permanent solution to the nomads' issue by settling them in appropriate locations provided by the government based on article no. 14 of the Afghan Constitution that obliges the government to assist the Kochies to settle in a permanent location. The Kochis have been assigned permanent, productive lands, but they are also happy to graze their herds on the lands of others, if they can get away with it.

Kochis should not be settled in a land that has been populated by another ethnic group for many hundreds of years, especially lands held by an ethnic group in opposition to certain government policies. This must not be a political decision favoring the current ruling powers. The evergreen land of Mashriqi the eastern provinces and the tropical southern provinces which have a lot of forests and greenery is a suitable place for the permanent location of the Kochies.

Additionally, all discriminating decrees and documents that were issued more than a century ago for the purpose of genocide and obligatory displacement of the Hazaras in Afghanistan should be immediately rescinded.

A call to action against Genocide in Afghanistan

We ask world governments, and especially NATO members to firmly petition the Afghan government for the absolute annulment of the discriminating decrees from more than a century back that causes violence and extends ethnic enmity, bloodshed, genocide and obligatory displacement of people in certain parts of Afghanistan.

We hope this committee would continue its struggles and efforts for the realization of social justice in Afghanistan. We welcome the cooperation of all nations in expressing outrage and the violence supported and enabled by a drug cartel which has no desire to improve the lives of the people of Afghanistan and have them take a rightful place in the modern world.

Afghan police shooting to kill ethnic minority in Kabul

Robert Maier — 2010-08-13T07:18:18Z

Breaking news from Kabul today informs us that a demonstration by men, women and children to call attention to the violence being perpetrated against the Hazara people turned bloody, with several shot to death, allegedly through indiscriminate firing into the crowd by Afghan police. The large Hazara community in West Kabul has been closed off by police.

This is the latest in a string of anti-Hazara attacks that began earlier in the summer with Kuchi insurgents attacking Hazara in the traditional Hazara area of Bamiyan. Thousands of Hazara were forced to flee the area, their homes were looted, and many of those left behind were beaten or killed.

The Hazara are known for having a much more progressive culture than the Pashtuns who run the Afghan government, including Afghan president Hamid Karzai and most of his cabinet ministers. For example, the Hazara promote the education of women, welcome foreigners, support free choice in marriage, freedom of speech, performance of music and dance, and peaceful discussion and demonstration over violence.

More details about the massacre, including more photos and videos will be posted on Kabulpress.org soon.

U.S. State Department pays Blackwater company thugs millions in Afghanistan while Afghan teachers starve

Robert Maier — 2010-06-20T17:41:27Z

In another example of the inanity of the U.S. State Department's work in Afghanistan, it was revealed several days ago that the U.S. State Department has awarded a $120 million contract for security operations to the United States Training Center (USTC) at new U.S. Consulates in Mazar-i-Sharif and Heart. The USTC is a division of Xe, the new name Blackwater USA chose to hide behind after its indictment for murdering seventeen Iraqi civilians in broad daylight on a busy Baghdad square.

The $120 million contract, split between the two small consulates means that $6.6 million per month will be spent on each consulate— on security alone! Blackwater security workers earn about $18,000/month. Afghan teachers earn about $50/month. For a fair comparison, figure that $50/month is below a living wage in Kabul. It takes three times that to pay rent, buy food and pay all the other bills required to raise a family, as a bare minimum. And that means no meat, no car, and no children going to school, because they have to work to help make up the difference.

Teachers and their families are guaranteed a life of poverty, and are at much greater risk for attack by Talibs than U.S. diplomats. The huge cost of the U.S. diplomatic infrastructure in Afghanistan is a big thorn in the side of the U.S. and the Afghan people.

Some say the pay is high because guards may take a bullet for a civilian. Well, so do policemen in the US, and American soldiers everywhere, but their hourly pay is a tiny fraction of Blackwater's mercenaries.

This contract is disappointing news for people who hoped that the U.S. administration and Pentagon were serious about supporting Afghan society's great needs beyond wildly expensive military actions. Billions flow to American war profiteers—both over-paid State employees and civilian contractors— and a woefully inadequate amount goes for Afghan healthcare, utilities, education, transportation, and judicial system.

Contracts like Blackwater's are a terrible example for Afghans and Afghan government workers. It proves the argument that the only way to get ahead in Afghanistan is to cozy-up to the powerful and hope to be rewarded with a ridiculously over-paid contract. It is a situation that Americans, with their trillions of dollars of debt, should be loudly protesting. It is a horrible negation of responsibility by the U.S. State Department to both the people of Afghanistan and the people of the United States.

New Video: Ethnic Cleansing in Afghanistan

Robert Maier — 2010-05-22T14:52:52Z

Kabulpress.org was notified today of this video on YouTube. Taped by Mr. Mohammad Ahmadi in the Hazara area of Behshood, Afghanistan, the video shows a pick-up truck piled high with goods looted from the Hazara homes in the background.

Note that the goods include rugs, appliances, and large sacks of grain— all valuable items that can be re-sold. On the ground, clothing and other items have been strewn in the dirt. The goal is to discourage Hazara, who fled attacks that have led to many dead and wounded, from returning to their homes.

The Hazara people have lived in Behsood for at least 3,000 years, but their Asian roots and beliefs, stemming more from Buddhism than Islam have made them continual targets of Pashtuns. Hazara culture promotes democracy, equal justice, women's rights and education for all, which has been a great problem with the autocratic Taliban supporters and fundamentalist Muslims, who have been intent on dispersing millions of Hazara and weakening their influence in modern Afghanistan.

This is of special import to the Obama Administration, the U.S. Army, and the families of the 100,000 soldiers in Afghanistan, because the Hazara are the most solid supporters of America's anti-terrorist, anti-drug trafficking, and anti-corruption efforts in Afghanistan.

As the Hazara are disenfranchised, having their land and personal property destroyed and stolen, their homes burned, and their loved ones murdered, the U.S. is losing the most important foundation for building a just peace in Afghanistan.

Kabulpress.org hopes that U.S. officials, including Hillary Clinton, Ambassador Eikenberry, and President Obama recognize the ethnic cleansing that is occurring, with the consent of the Afghan National Army, and that Hamid Karzai and the Afghan government take immediate actions to prevent it and provide restitution and justice.

Bloody attacks against Hazaras in Afghanistan force thousands to flee

Afghan government ignores murder and bombings, against Afghanistan's most socially progressive ethnic minority

Saturday 22 May 2010

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Bloody attacks against Hazaras in Afghanistan force thousands to flee

Robert Maier — 2010-05-22T08:05:00Z

Latest news from Afghanistan is that Kuchi nomads, supported by elements of the Afghan government, have attacked Hazara villages in the region of Behsood in recent weeks. This area has experienced annual violence as the nomads bring their grazing herds through Hazara farmland, ruining the spring crops, and forcing Hazaras to flee to Bamiyan and Kabul.

These photos were taken by members of the Afghanistan Human Rights Commission in 2007. Since the area is experiencing extreme conflict, photos and news are slow in coming. Kabulpress.org will offer news as it arrives.

Afghan government orders gag on free press: Is this what NATO is fighting for?

Robert Maier — 2010-04-27T05:32:08Z

Karzai is buying the hardware, software and expertise for Internet filtering from Iran, who are experts in electronic censorship. This equipment can block nearly 100% of any Internet traffic that displeases them. Will jamming of BBC and Voice of America radio be next? Iran can sell Karzai that technology too."— Kamran Mir Hazar, editor-in-chief, Kabulpress.org

Kabulpress.org today received a copy of an official letter from the Afghanistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (ATRA) to the Ariana Network Service Company (ANSC) ordering it to block Kabulpress.org's website on its servers in Afghanistan. ANSC is one of Afghanistan's largest Internet service providers and a branch of the large Afghan/American tele-communications company, TSI, based in Ft. Lee, New Jersey that includes the Afghanistan-based Ariana Television Network, Ariana FM Radio, and the Afghan Wireless cell phone network.

The letter, dated January 7, 2010, and signed by Engineer Khair Mohammad Faizi, Executive Board Member and Chairman of the Presidential ATRA instructs ANSC to immediately block www.kabulpress.org and another Afghan news website for “publishing articles in opposition to prominent political figures and senior government officials.”

Staff at Kabulpress.org began noticing earlier this year that its page view count from Afghanistan, normally totaling 200,000+ per month was steadily decreasing, while complaints from users stating they could not connect were increasing. At that time, rumors and sources in the government informed Kabulpress.org staff that the Afghan government was censoring select news sites, including Kabulpress.org. The letter contained in this article is confirmation of that fact.

Kabulpress.org editor-in-chief, Kamran Mir Hazar stated, “it is very distressing that the Afghan government has taken this step, but given the high level of government censorship that occurs within Afghanistan's borders, we expected Karzai and his ministers would try to extend their reach outside of Afghanistan. This is especially a slap in the face of the American people who support a free press but spend billions of dollars in Afghanistan to support a government that has made such a fascist move. The American people need to know who they are dealing with.”

Image of the original letter in Dari.

Here is the English translation:

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Afghanistan Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (ATRA)
1388/ 10/ 17 (Thursday, January 7, 2010)
Number: 8071/ 5114

To: Ariana Network Service Company

Please be advised:

According to reliable information, the websites www.afghanpaper.com and www.kabulpress.com have been publishing articles in opposition to prominent political figures and senior government officials.

You are hereby directed to block those websites in your network without delay and ensure this office of the implementation of this order.

With respect
Engineer Khair Mohammad Faizi
Executive Board Member and Chairman of the Presidential ATRA

Here is the email sent to Kabulpress.org from ANSC responding to an inquiry by Kamran Mir Hazar:

From: Sultan Aziz Popal [mailto:aziz.popal@afghan-wireless.com]
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2010 9:48 AM
To: editor@kabulpress.org
Cc: Farhad Azizi; Amanullah Ehsan (Tsiglobe); Vishal Rattanpal; Rohullah Habibzadah; Haji Ismael shahsamand
Subject: RE: banned 38.113.0.255 www.kabulpress.org

Dear Kamran,

This is to inform you that ANS was instructed to block the IP based on attached official letter (dated: 17/10/1388) by ATRA, asking ANS to Ban the website immediately.

Best regards,
Popal
EM of ANS

"The most ironic part of this situation is that Karzai is purchasing the hardware, software, and expertise for Internet filtering from Iran, one of the world's experts in electronic censorship. When they receive this equipment, they will be able to block nearly 100% of any Internet traffic that displeases them. Will radio jamming of BBC and Voice of America be next? Iran can sell Karzai that technology too," added Mir Hazar.