UN staff killed in Afghanistan amid protests over Qur'an burning

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/apr/0...if-killed-quran

 

The UN mission in Afghanistan has been thrown into a deep crisis after a furious mob of protesters killed and wounded a number of its staff in one of the country's most peaceful cities.

 

One police source in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif claimed at least eight foreign UN employees were killed after a demonstration in the thriving commercial hub turned violent. Other officials reported different figures.

 

Provincial police spokesman Sherjan Durrani said the demonstrators poured out of mosques in the city in the early afternoon, shortly after Friday prayers where worshippers had been angered by reports that a Florida pastor had burned a copy of the Qur'an.

 

Last year Terry Jones, a US fundamentalist Christian leader, did threaten to burn copies of the Muslim holy book. He backed down after warnings that Islamic opinion around the world could be inflamed and the lives of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq endangered.

 

But on 21 March Wayne Sapp set light to a Qur'an with Jones standing by.

 

Durrani said that while most protesters were peaceful, others were seeking targets to attack, including shops and the UN compound.

 

Whatever the final death toll, the incident is seen as a disaster for the UN, coming just over a week after the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, announced that Mazar-e-Sharif would be one of the first areas of the wartorn country to be transferred from Nato to Afghan government security control.

 

If the number of UN staff killed is high, the organisation will be obliged to consider closing down or dramatically reducing all its operations in the country – something it came perilously close to doing in late 2009 when an attack on a UN guesthouse in Kabul killed five staff.

 

The UN has already issued a "white city" order, which forces all staff in the country into lockdown in their compounds.

 

Earlier in the day hundreds of Afghans marched on the US embassy in Kabul.

 

In a statement the UN confirmed that some of its staff members had been killed. "The situation is still confusing and we are currently working to ascertain all the facts and take care of all our staff. The special representative of the secretary general, Staffan de Mistura, is on his way to Mazar-e-Sharif now to deal with the situation personally on the ground."

[LeazesMag 0]

So who's going to volunteer to go over there, sit these "people" down over a cup of tea, and explain the principle of free speech ?

[Meenzer 15432]

Trying to impose foreign values on a country is repugnant.

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

Trying to impose foreign values on a country is repugnant.

 

Would you extend that statement to cover places like Uganda, where homosexuals face the death penalty and are regularly murdered? European nations have made a concerted effort to stop homosexuals being executed by the Ugandan government in certain instances; if you extend your statement to its logical conclusion, such efforts are 'repugnant' as they are an attempt to impose 'foreign values' on a country. For 'foreign values' you could also read 'BETTER values', which don't involve murdering people for their sexuality. I don't think taking to the streets in a murderous rage and killing members of UN staff after you heard a Mullah preaching hatred constitutes acceptable behaviour, no matter what country you're in.

 

In Uganda, the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, if enacted, would broaden the criminalisation of homosexuality by introducing the death penalty for people who have previous convictions, are HIV-positive, or engage in same sex acts with people under 18 years of age. The bill also includes provisions for Ugandans who engage in same-sex sexual relations outside of Uganda, asserting that they may be extradited for punishment back to Uganda, and includes penalties for individuals, companies, media organisations, or non-governmental organisations that support LGBT rights.

 

The bill, the government of Uganda, and the evangelicals involved have received significant international media attention and criticism from Western governments, some of whom have threatened to cut off financial aid to Uganda. In response to the attention, a revision was introduced to soften the strongest penalties for the most egregious offenses to life imprisonment.

 

Do you stand by your statement, as a raving homosexual, or do you now retract it, given that pressure from the West to impose 'foreign' homofriendly values on Uganda has saved the lives of many homosexuals?

Edited April 1, 2011 by Kevin S. Assilleekunt

[Happy Face 29]

Has the loss of Alex taught us nothing?

 

Can we not sweep these stories under the mat?

[Meenzer 15432]

I can't quite tell if I've whooshed you or you've whooshed me here. Shall we call it a score draw?

[LeazesMag 0]

I can't quite tell if I've whooshed you or you've whooshed me here. Shall we call it a score draw?

 

appeaser

[Kevin S. Assilleekunt 1]

cease fire

[Meenzer 15432]

Fine chaps, yous.

[LeazesMag 0]

Has the loss of Alex taught us nothing?

 

Can we not sweep these stories under the mat?

 

I reckon you should spend the next 12 hours searching those oddball sites that you do, to find somewhere that says these are peaceful people, badly misunderstood, and can't wait to get into the UK and enrich our society with their minority views and the revolutionary methods of educating us on their superior liberal outlook, and patience towards others who differ from them.

[Gejon 2]

I predict this thread will become very boring and leazes will tell us about Muslim ray guns.

[tooner 243]

So who's going to volunteer to go over there, sit these "people" down over a cup of tea, and explain the principle of free speech ?

 

 

are those racist quotation marks?

[LeazesMag 0]

So who's going to volunteer to go over there, sit these "people" down over a cup of tea, and explain the principle of free speech ?

 

 

are those racist quotation marks?

 

do you fancy going ? They are just people you know ? Take a Koran and burn it, then tell them you have a right to freedom of speech ?

Edited April 1, 2011 by LeazesMag

[tooner 243]

answer the question, what was the purpose of the quotes around the word people?

 

because from here, it looks like you're spouting more racist bullshit...maybe i'm mistaken, please clarify.

[LeazesMag 0]

answer the question, what was the purpose of the quotes around the word people?

 

because from here, it looks like you're spouting more racist bullshit...maybe i'm mistaken, please clarify.

 

don't be fucking stupid.

[tooner 243]

why did you put quotes around the word people then, do you think that afghan people are sub-human?

[LeazesMag 0]

why did you put quotes around the word people then, do you think that afghan people are sub-human?

 

you're potty. Those people who did that today are uneducated fanatical wankers, do you seriously think their colour makes a difference, you barmy idiot ? It just may be co-incidence that its always muslims etc who do this sort of thing mind, but saying it how it is ? thats got fuck all to do with "racism" so don't spout that bollocks at me you fool.

[tooner 243]

now now, you're the one that used the quotes around people.

 

i agree that the people that attacked and killed the UN workers are fanatical extremist wankers, if you investigate a little bit you'll find other new stories that point out there were other peaceful protests that took place in other parts of the country and that it was a violent minority that perpetrated the crimes at the protest in the OP.

 

as for saying how it is!??!

i would suggest that you don't say it how it is, but rather how you perceive it is.

there is a distinction to be made between those two things.

Edited April 1, 2011 by tooner

[Gejon 2]

now now, you're the one that useed the quotes around people.

 

i agree that the people that attacked and killed the UN workers are fanatical extremist wankers, if you investigate a little bit you'll find other new stories that point out there were other peaceful protests that took place in other parts of the country and that it was a violent minority that perpetrated the crimes at the protest in the OP.

 

 

Don't be daft man, all Muslims do is kill people!

[LeazesMag 0]

now now, you're the one that used the quotes around people.

 

i agree that the people that attacked and killed the UN workers are fanatical extremist wankers, if you investigate a little bit you'll find other new stories that point out there were other peaceful protests that took place in other parts of the country and that it was a violent minority that perpetrated the crimes at the protest in the OP.

 

as for saying how it is!??!

i would suggest that you don't say it how it is, but rather how you perceive it is.

there is a distinction to be made between those two things.

 

"minority"

 

The most used word in the namby pamby softie left wing idealistic dictionary.

[AgentAxeman 174]

Trying to impose foreign values on a country is repugnant.

 

 

you mean like Sharia law?

 

[Ayatollah Hermione 13837]

The thing with burning the Qur'an is that it's quite inflammatory.

[TheMoog 0]

Has the loss of Alex taught us nothing?

 

Can we not sweep these stories under the mat?

 

I reckon you should spend the next 12 hours searching those oddball sites that you do, to find somewhere that says these are peaceful people, badly misunderstood, and can't wait to get into the UK and enrich our society with their minority views and the revolutionary methods of educating us on their superior liberal outlook, and patience towards others who differ from them.

 

Not to drag this out at all but I think this IS the view of many lefties... a nice idea but not very realistic, cloud cuckoo land-esque in fact.

 

The thing with burning the Qur'an is that it's quite inflammatory.

... is my favourite post in this thread so far though

Edited April 2, 2011 by Armchair Pundit

[Happy Face 29]

Has the loss of Alex taught us nothing?

 

Can we not sweep these stories under the mat?

 

I reckon you should spend the next 12 hours searching those oddball sites that you do, to find somewhere that says these are peaceful people, badly misunderstood, and can't wait to get into the UK and enrich our society with their minority views and the revolutionary methods of educating us on their superior liberal outlook, and patience towards others who differ from them.

 

The essence of leazes.

[Happy Face 29]

now now, you're the one that useed the quotes around people.

 

i agree that the people that attacked and killed the UN workers are fanatical extremist wankers, if you investigate a little bit you'll find other new stories that point out there were other peaceful protests that took place in other parts of the country and that it was a violent minority that perpetrated the crimes at the protest in the OP.

 

Don't be daft man, all Muslims do is kill people!