NATO, US face backlash over civilian killings in Afghanistan

Chairmen of renowned nongovernmental organizations that have focused on civilian casualties caused by US and NATO troops in the South Asian country have even demanded that Turkey immediately remove its soldiers from Afghanistan in order to no longer be an accomplice in those killings.

Forty-five nations including Turkey contribute troops to NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the country. The US takes the lead with more than 50,000 soldiers, more than half of the total mission, while Turkey plays its non-combatant role with a force of 1,835.

According to the UN, at least 2,412 Afghan civilians died in fighting in 2009, an increase of 14 percent over the previous year. Almost 1,000 of them were killed at the hands of international and US forces, while the remaining deaths were attributed to egregious tactics employed by the insurgents, including ambushes, assassinations and roadside bombs. Nevertheless, civilian deaths not only enrage the local Afghan population but also people in Turkey as US-led mission operatives hit the headlines almost weekly with scandalous attacks.

Geneva Conventions being violated

“I wonder if the US, Germany or Canada would be that quiet if it was Western civilians who were being massacred in Afghanistan? This is an indication of how hypocritical the West can be when the matter at hand is solely regarding Muslims,” said Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, chairman of the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER), adding that international forces are certainly violating the provisions of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 with the way they treat innocent civilians on the land they occupy.

The Geneva Conventions are four treaties and three additional protocols that outline the standards the party states should comply with to protect civilians in times of war. All 45 troop-contributing countries including the US, the UK, Germany, France and Canada, the first five among them among in terms of the number of soldiers in Afghanistan, have ratified the conventions, which are very comprehensive with respect to their definition of the burden on the shoulders of the occupying forces.

“Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, color, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria,” states Article 3 of the Fourth Convention.

Chairman of the Freedom Association (Özgür-Der) Rıdvan Kaya labels those atrocities as NATO and US terrorism. “If we define terrorism as targeting civilians for political ends, then what has happened there is simply NATO and US terrorism,” he said, further arguing that the regret announced on the part of international forces does not translate into action. “The same thing happens after every civilian casualty. One of them takes the floor and says an investigation was launched into that particular incident. Nothing else happens after that. Innocent people simply keep being murdered in their homes, in public transportation vehicles and even in mosques.” He called on everybody with a conscience to speak up against those atrocities.

Who is right? Gates vs. Petraeus

A few recent incidents not only in Afghanistan but also in Iraq have stirred up controversy among US officials with regard to their assessment of the American way of handling the war, in particular.

US troops opened fire on a bus in Kandahar and killed four civilians while wounding more than a dozen others on Monday. Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who has often criticized the NATO force for endangering civilians, condemned the attack, adding that “it violates NATO’s commitment to safeguard civilian life.”

Another scandal, although not recent, was the discovery of video proof of civilian killings by US soldiers in 2007 in Baghdad. The video, released by a Web site earlier this week, shows a group of men walking down the street before being repeatedly shot by helicopters. The gunners can be heard laughing and referring to the men as “dead bastards.” The revelation sparked anger in both countries towards the US forces’ mode of intervention in establishing “security and peace.”

US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, however, reacted to the leaking of the video to a Web site, not to the murder of civilians, calling the posting “irresponsible.” When asked whether that and similar incidents have undercut the US position on human rights, Gates said “no” on Tuesday. “In Afghanistan, I don’t recall a single [incident] where someone alleges the US did it on purpose,” he said.

The commander of the US Central Command, the area of responsibility of which includes the Middle East and Central Asia, Gen. David Petraeus, however, said on the same day that civilian casualties in Afghanistan undermine the American and NATO mission there. “You cannot achieve your strategic goals, your strategic objectives, if tactical activities result in the loss of innocent civilian life. It undermines all that you are trying to do,” he was quoted as saying by the Voice of America on Tuesday.

Coordinated efforts needed to compensate civilians

Sarah Holewinski, executive director of the Washington-based Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (CIVIC), drew attention to another aspect of the issue, compensation for the victims and their families.

She told Sunday’s Zaman in a written statement that efforts shown by some are not enough to remedy the harm caused to civilians.

“We should always remember that there are families struggling to continue on in the wake of tragedy. When civilian casualties do occur, some ISAF members, including the US, Canada and Australia, offer monetary assistance when civilians are caught in their crossfire. But these individual efforts are ad hoc, slow and underused to the point that most Afghan civilians receive very little for their losses,” she noted.

Holewinski criticized the fact that civilians are still losing their lives because of NATO and US troops and also the attempts to cover up those tragic incidents, but she also stressed that one should not ignore the fact that a majority of those losses were Taliban victims, as UN data show.