Will the truth about Dostum's massacre finally come out?

Hats off to Physicians for Human Rights, the organisation that has been fighting a long and lonely battle to investigate the November 2001 killing of up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners in northern Afghanistan. Now, it seems, President Obama is willing to reopen the controversy.
The prisoners, who had been captured at Kunduz, were being transported in container trucks by troops under the command of the Uzbek warlord General Abdul Rashid Dostum, who at the time was being paid by the CIA. When the prisoners eventually arrived at Sheberghan Prison many hundreds of them were dead or dying, having suffocated in the containers. The dead were buried close by in the desert at Dasht-e-Leili (see picture above).
PHR first reported on the killings in February 2002 and has since sent experts to the burial site to verify the story. The location itself, now much tampered with by Dostum's men, is an official war crimes site.
Despite their vociferous and principled campaign, it has taken PHR until this week for the US Administration to respond. You can find a full timeline for the PHR investigation here.
Following a New York Times article by James Risen last week, President Obama signalled that he may act on the scandal. He told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that he has directed his national security team to look into the 2001 deaths and stated that the government needs to find out whether actions by the US contributed to possible war crimes. "If it appears that our conduct in some way supported violations of the laws of war, then I think that, you know, we have to know about that", said the President.
But what really lies behind this decision? All the evidence suggests that it is much more political than at first meets the eye. As readers of this blog will know, President Karzai recently reinstated General Dostum in his job as Army chief of staff, despite the fact that he was forced to leave Afghanistan at the end of last year and go into exile in Turkey (which is where he is at present).
The reason for his impending return is simple; President Karzai needs the votes of Dostum's Uzbek supporters and so has done a deal.
This has not gone down well in Washington, where they thought they had got rid of Dostum for good. So it looks like the decision finally to open up the murky history of this massacre is in effect a shot across Karzai's bows. If Dostum is rehabilitated, then the USA will push ahead with a war crimes tribunal.
Anyone who believes in democracy in Afghanistan must make sure that Dostum never returns to the country. Go to the PHR website and register your support for their campaign.

Karzai's deal with the Hazaras and Uzbeks

As the Afghanistan Presidential election approaches, it is worth noting some of the deals that President Hamid Karzai is cutting to try to keep his position. The most significant so far involves the Hazaras and Uzbeks, who between them make up around 20 per cent of the electorate.
In early June the Wahdat-Junbish Alliance, representing the main Hazara and Uzbek political organisations and led by Haji Muhammad Muhaqiq and General Abdul Rashid Dostum, announced they would be supporting Karzai for the presidency.
The alliance between Hizb-e-Wahdat and Junbish-e-Milli came about after Muhaqiq visited General Dostum in Turkey in May. Dostum was dismissed as chief of the Army staff and forced to leave the country at the end of last year after it was clear that he would face war crimes charges. Under American pressure, the Turks took him under their wing, and they have clearly been working very hard since then to rehabilitate him.
In exchange for the Hazara and Uzbek votes, Karzai has apparently promised a substantial package of reforms that is little more than a political bribe.
The proposed reforms include:
* that Jaghoor and Behsood, two Hazara districts in Ghazni and Maidan, should be declared provinces;
* that the second vice president should be a Hazara. Karzai has already selected Mr Khalili as his VP;
* that Hazara representation be officially declared as 25per cent and Uzbek 15 per cent;
* that Wahdat should receive five cabinet portfolios and Junbish should receive four;
* that a highway be built from Kabul to Herat through Bamiyan and Daikundi;
* that the issue of Kuchi grazing rights - a source of conflict with Hazaras - should be resolved permanently;
* that the state should promote the Turko-Mongol language and culture;
* Perhaps most controversially, that General Dostum should be re-appointed as chief of the Army staff. This has now occurred, although Dostum remains in Turkey, allegedly undergoing medical treatment. On a visit to Afghanistan in June, the Turkish foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said Dostum would soon be returning home.
Whether or not one likes the way politics plays out in Afghanistan, the Hazaras and Uzbeks are certainly supporting the new alliance. Earlier this week they held a massive joint rally outside the Hazrat Ali shrine in Mazar-e-Sharif in northern Afghanistan. An estimated 70,000 people took part in what was the largest political demonstration ever held in the city. They heard their political leaders urge them to vote for Karzai. Whether Karzai can deliver on his promises remains to be seen.