Press Coverage of the
RAWA protest rally on the Black Day of April 28
April 28, 2006 – Islamabad


Click here to view more photos of the demonstration.





Afghan women call for ousting war criminals
Dawn, April 29, 2006

By Our Reporter

ISLAMABAD, April 28: The Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (Rawa) staged a protest rally here on Friday marking the April 28, 1992, control of Afghanistan by “Islamic fundamentalists”.

Hundreds of Afghan women from the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad and Peshawar gathered in front of the UN offices and condemned what they called the “taking over of power by brutal Jehadi forces after the fall of Russian puppet regime in Afghanistan”.

They were holding banners and placards inscribed with slogans demanding punishment for those who committed war crimes in their country. They also displayed photos of the devastation caused in Afghanistan first by the Russians and then by “Islamic fundamentalists”.

A memorandum presented to the UN officials stated that the same gloom was still dominant in their country and most of the number one suspects of war crimes including Sayyaf, Rabbani, Khalili, Qanoni, Dostum, Mohaqiq, Akbari and Fahim were now either ministers or members of the parliament.

They demanded that the UN should drag the Afghan war criminals to the International Court of Justice.

The protesters criticised the western media for showing a peaceful image of Afghanistan after the US occupation, and ignoring killing, looting, corruption, bribery, abduction, rape, drug cultivation, human trafficking, unemployment and other miseries.

The memorandum also criticised the role being given by the US to the Northern Alliance in the new setup, stating: “The Northern Alliance should know that the bleeding wounds they have inflicted upon the people of Afghanistan during all the years of their Jehadi rule of gore and infamy are too open, too painful.”

It said traitors and dark minds were still in control of the fate of Afghan nation and calamities had gripped the motherland. Mr Karzai and his foreign guardians, who had invested in “fundamentalists” for many years, have been given key posts in the executive, judiciary and branches of government, it added.




Karzai offers olive branch to Taliban
Washington Post, April 28, 2006

Reported by Reuters

....

Several dozen Afghan women held a protest outside U.N. offices in the Pakistani capital to demand democracy and the prosecution of "warlords."

"Today is a black day because it brought civil war to our country in which 65,000 Afghans were killed and now, those criminals are in parliament," said Danish Hamid, a spokeswoman for the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan.




Protest against warlords sway in Afghanistan
The Nation, April 29, 2006

By Our Correspondent

ISLAMABAD - To observe April 28,1992, as a Black Day when fundamentalists had entered Kabul, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA) staged a protest rally in Islamabad.

According to RAWA on April 28, 1992, after the fall of the Russian puppet regime, fundamentalist jehadi forces took power in Afghanistan and prevailed a reign of terror, rape, looting and destruction.

Over 65,000 people were killed only in Kabul from 1992-96 when the jehadi fundamentalists were replaced by ultra-fundamentalist Taliban. But today again the same criminal jehadi forces, instead of appearing in court of justice as war criminals, have key positions in the government of Hamid Karzai and trying to destabilize the situation.

RAWA says, while the warlords-fostering government of Mr. Karzai every year observe April 28 as a victory day, for Afghan people, particularly women, it is the darkest day in our history when the criminal fundamentalist bands took power in Kabul in 1992 following the collapse of the Russian puppet regime.

It was start of a new wave of terror, destruction and barbarism all over Afghanistan and especially the capital Kabul in the hands of these terrorist gangs. And the gloom of 28th April is still dominant in our country and most of its number one suspects such as Sayyaf, Rabbani, Khalili, Qanoni, Dostum, Mohaqiq, Akbari, Fahim, Ismael etc. are either ministers or members of the parliament.

The RAWA every year stages a protest rally to denounce it as a Black Day. On April 28, 2006, RAWA organized a demonstration in front of the UN headquarter in Islamabad. The demonstrators numbering around 600 women and girls arrived from Peshawar and some other cities of Pakistan and nearby provinces of Afghanistan. A RAWA member presented a memorandum to UN authorities in the UN headquarters in Islamabad asking the UN to consider seriously bringing the top fundamentalist leaders in front of the International Curt for their role in war crimes in the past 14 years.

The demonstrators carried large photos depicting the destruction and devastation in Afghanistan and portraits of top criminals in the government with cross marking on their faces, together with banners and placards in Pashtu, Persian and English.

A number of RAWA activists raised cue slogans, which were responded with fervor by participants in the march. Some of the slogans on the banners were: “Parliament full of drug kingpins, criminals and traitors cant represent our people!”, “Collaboration with any of the fundamentalists is equivalent to treachery”, “The Northern Alliance should be brought to justice”, “April 28 odious than April 27”, “New cabinet: the same donkey with a new saddle.”

The participants criticized Western media for portraying peaceful image of Afghanistan while ignoring killing, looting, corruption, bribery, abduction, rape, drug cultivation, trafficking, wasting stealing of billions of dollars, unemployment and so many other miseries, which are very common in Afghanistan today. They also condemned the negative role of the Pakistan government in the events of April 28, 1992.

Delivering speech, a RAWA activist stated: “The re-emergence of the Northern Alliance criminals in different parts of our country crushed all hopes of our people for peace.

The Northern Alliance need to remember the years 1992 to 1996 when they were in power; when the execrable Gulbaddin Hekmatyar gang turned Kabul to rubble with their daily indiscriminate bombardment and rocketing; when the infamous Mazari-Khalili gang were gouging out the eyes of non-Hazaras; when the vile Sayyaf gang were driving 6-inch nails into the heads of Hazaras and broiling them alive in metal containers; when the perfidious Rabbani-Massoud gangs slaughtered the inhabitants of Afshar and other residential areas in Kabul and whitewashed the faces of all murderers, rapists and looters in history in terms of the barbarity and infamy.

The Northern Alliance should know that the bleeding wounds they have inflicted upon the people of Afghanistan during all the years of their jihadi rule of gore and infamy are too open, too painful.”

A statement in Persian and English was distributed during the rally. The title of the statement was “28th April, Mourning for People - Joy for Fundamentalists”. Parts of the statement read:

“Traitors, country-betrayers, and dark minds are in control of our nations fate and our country is sunk in calamities. Mr. Karzai and his foreign guardians, who have invested in fundamentalists for many years, today have given key posts in the executive, legislation and judiciary branches of government, to the most infamous and bloody elements of the Northern Alliance and other savage bands.”

“Mr. Karzai and his Afghan and foreign advisers have shown conspicuously that they are ready to shake hands in friendship with the filthiest individuals and parties, who now wear the bogus mask of democracy on their nasty faces. “




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