Afghanistan was the subject of a public meeting which took place on 30th March with speeches and discussion. This is part 2 (See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pfrlwp1phU for part 1.) Pt 2 begins with the subject of how the public had nearly forgotten about the invasion of Afghanistan until an upsurge in resistance put it back in the news. The media reports any suicide bombings by the Taliban but the majority of the killings has been carried out by troops: since the start of the occupation in 2001 to 2009, 50,000 Afghan civilians have been killed by US and UK troops and 1700+ NATO and over 265 British troops have also died. Occupying forces are told to fire on large gatherings, most of which turn out to be wedding parties where it is common for a gun to be fired into the air in celebration and this often leads to a massacre of wedding parties by the invading troops. Troops have also spread into Pakistan and rockets have been fired and bombs dropped on villages without an official declaration of war on Pakistan, similar to during the Vietnam war where Laos and Cambodia were attacked as well without an official declaration. The US invaded Afghanistan shortly after the Sept 11th events, despite the fact that not a single Afghan citizen was involved in 9/11 and ignored other middle eastern countries that did produce some of the hijackers because acceptable oil deals had already been arranged with those countries, which shows the real motive for attacking Afghanistan was not to root out terrorists. Iraq likewise was not involved in 9/11 but because it did not go along with the US' plans for oil it was bombarded next. In fact the bombing had never stopped since the first Gulf war but news of it had died down and the blitzing greatly increased in 2003 after war was again declared on Iraq. Similarly the occupation in Afghanistan has been continuously in place since it started: war did not switch from Afghanistan to Iraq and back, only the reporting of it did. Both wars have been going on simultaneously for a long time. Afghanistan is not only on the route of a planned oil pipeline but has the misfortune to be on a strategically sought-after spot in the world, being on the border with several countries. For this reason it has been repeatedly invaded throughout history. Iraq is similarly on a strategically useful border area. Us & European leaders have tried to justify the invasion by claiming they will bring greater democracy and rights but the opposite is the case. When you invade a country and use repressive measures including installing a corrupt puppet regime like Karzai's and upping numbers of troops and killings to keep the people from taking their country back, then it is obvious that the crushed infrastructure is not going to be conducive to a democratic or progressive society. In fact, women's rights and progress have been eroded to almost zero as the priority has become to fight the US & European invaders which has given the Taliban, as the largest group fighting the occupation more credence in Afghanistan. The Taleban are not the only insurgents as opposition to the occupation is almost universal among the various ethnic groups except among certain gangster warlords in the pay of Karzai who was himself placed there by America to rule. He is a rich American citizen who lived in California for 20 years. Between the drug-dealing gangsters sponsored by the government on the one hand and the Taliban who have gained from the invasion too, it is extremely difficult for democracy or women's rights to make any gains. Nevertheless there are progressive organisations like RAWA http://www.rawa.org who have been bravely speaking out and campaigning for more rights and against the occupation. Back in the UK another kind of bravery has been taking place with soldiers and their families speaking out against unjust wars. Military Families Against the War (MFAW) have been campaigning to get the troops back home so that soldiers don't have to risk their lives in unjust wars. It is bad enough to lose a relative to war but it is an even greater tragedy to realise that one's loved ones have died in vain and have been used as unsuspecting pawns in the destruction of a country in a war for gains in oil and useful territory and not to make the world a safer place nor to improve conditions for Afghan citizens. Soldier Joe Glenton when he saw what was really going on in Afghanistan refused to go back to war whilst on leave in Britain and has spoken out publicly against the war alongside speakers like Joan Humphreys who lost her grandson in the war. Soldiers who reject and publicly condemn the illegal war face being sent to Colchester military prison.
More info on the speaker at http://www.maryhillssp.org/
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Rally After Springburn March For Jobsby 1789Overture590 views
She has a book out titled "Raising My Voice: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice"
Mjhavok 1 year ago
From Wikipedia
"Malalai Joya (Pashto and Persian: ملالۍ جویا) (born April 25, 1978) is an Afghan politician who has been called "the bravest woman in Afghanistan." As an elected member of the Wolesi Jirga from Farah province, she has publicly denounced the presence of what she considers warlords and war criminals in the parliament. She is an outspoken critic of both the Taliban as well as the present Afghan government of Karzai and its western supporter"
Mjhavok 1 year ago