Afghan war crimes amnesty passed

[133724]

The upper house of the Afghan parliament has passed a controversial bill giving amnesty to people accused of war crimes over the past 30 years.

Both houses have now backed the bill. It has yet to be signed by President Hamid Karzai, who could veto it.

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President Karzai is known to be opposed to the bill.

In the warlord period some 80,000 civilians died in Kabul alone. Large numbers of others were kidnapped, mutilated or raped.

The United Nations and Afghan's leading rights groups say only victims of war crimes can forgive the perpetrators.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6379587.stm

[Eugene]

1. Related: AFGHANISTAN: Grave concern over immunity plans for warlords (IRIN)

AFGHANISTAN: Grave concern over immunity plans for warlords

KABUL , 4 February 2007 (IRIN) - The United Nations and a leading human rights group
in Afghanistan have expressed concern over a draft law that seeks to grant immunity
to Afghans accused of committing war crimes during 25 years of conflict in the country.

-snip-

“AIHRC welcomes efforts for promoting reconciliation, but at the same time we believe
granting blanket amnesty will only permit impunity in our country,” Nadery said.

-snip-

(UNAMA statement:)
It added that the proper implementation of the Action Plan on Peace, Reconciliation and
Justice - a three-year plan launched by President Karzai in December last year - was
essential for addressing post-war justice in Afghanistan.

The plan contains five key elements: acknowledgment of the suffering of the Afghan people;
strengthening state institutions; finding out the truth about the country’s bloody past;
promoting reconciliation; and establishing a proper accountability mechanism.

-snip-

Full article: http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=69914