RAWA statement on kidnapping of Italian aid worker in Kabul When there is kidnapping in other countries, people suffer from only one pain -- the fear for the kidnapped person’s life and well-being--, but under the rule of the fundamentalists, our people and country are the victims of many kidnappings and endure many other pains. The Afghan government knows name and identity of Clementina Cantoni’s kidnappers, but is shamefully neglecting to follow up on the incident. There is no comparable example to this sort of neglect, even in other countries which suffer from corruption and lawlessness. Last year, the thugs of the Northern Alliance kidnapped three UN workers, two women and one man, releasing them after a few weeks. But the Karzai government never told the Afghan people or the world that:
Now it is crystal clear that the bloodthirsty gangs of Faheem-Qanoni-Abdullah have kidnapped Clementina, an Italian aid worker with the Pamlarane (CARE) organization, hoping to gain both money and the freedom of their imprisoned members. The Italian government negotiated for Clementina’s freedom independently of the Afghan authorities, because words and action of the Karzai administration have become seen as so untrustworthy, disgraceful and dishonest throughout the world. Clementina’s ordeal was very similar to last year’s kidnapping of the UN workers. It is interesting that the Ministry of the Interior immediately announced that they contacted the kidnappers through mobile. This implies that they had knowledge of the whereabouts of this kidnapping gang and should have been able to find these foul mercenaries of the Northern Alliance. Of course, this happened in a liberated country of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, with free press! That’s why Tolo TV channel didn’t reveal the source of a film showing Cantonia while in captivity. The kidnapping of Cantonia proved for the thousandth time that when there are political and nonpolitical benefits from the fundamentalists, these religious fascists don’t care about humanist or Afghani values. Similarly, American troops in Iraq shot a car belonging to the Italian press that had been released, killing a high-level Italian security officer. Nowadays, more than 10,000 American troops look at cases like the captivity of Cantonia with indifference, neglecting to take any serious action to free her. Regardless, the people don’t have any doubt that the kidnappers of Cantonia have direct or indirect relations with the leaders of the Northern Alliance, even though it is not necessarily the same gang responsible for the kidnapping of the three UN workers. We express our sympathy for Cantonia, her family and her friends, believing that as long as these fundamentalist criminals are in power, kidnappings and other crimes will continue to run rampant. The people of the world should know calling Afghanistan "free and peaceful" is a bitter jab at the suffering people of Afghanistan. These septic heads of terrorism and fundamentalism extend from the sleeves of the Northern Alliance. Like they held Cantonia captive, they continue to take high level posts in ministries and embassies, steal billions of dollars from the nation’s development, these acts are paramount to holding the lives of the Afghan people hostage!
June 10, 2005 |