Yar Mohammad holds an image depicting pictures of his late father, Atta Mohammad, as he poses in Jalalabad February 19, 2011. Yar Mohammad was in Iran when his electrician father was taken from his home by U.S. and Afghan soldiers, beaten in a school bathroom and then shot in the head one afternoon last September. A U.S. soldier now faces trial for pulling the trigger, but Atta's family, part of the vast rural Afghan population whose support is vital to turning the tide in a decade-long war against Islamist insurgents, say they have been given no compensation and little sense of justice. Picture taken February 19, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/ Parwiz
METHERLAM, Afghanistan |
METHERLAM, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Yar Mohammad was in Iran one afternoon last September when his electrician father was taken from his home in an Afghan village by U.S. and Afghan soldiers, beaten in a school bathroom and then shot in the head.
By the time he returned the funeral was over, but neighbors had saved cellphone pictures of the bloodied concrete where they said Atta Mohammad spent his last minutes, and of the battered body being carried to his grave.
They told Yar Mohammad, who worked as a laborer in Iran, about the sound of a single deadly shot ringing out through the village.
A U.S. soldier now faces trial for pulling the trigger, but Atta's family, part of the vast rural Afghan population whose support is vital to turning the tide in a decade-long war against Islamist insurgents, say they have been given no compensation and little sense of justice.
"If I had power I would take revenge, but I have no power," said Yar Mohammad, sadly unwrapping one of his few mementos of his father, a picture of a proud older man in a smart turban, superimposed on an ocean sunset.
It is hard to reconcile with the visibly bruised face, surrounded by flowers and tinsel, on videos of the burial.
Sergeant Derrick A. Miller from the Connecticut National Guard is charged with murder, and will appear before a court martial at Fort Campbell in Kentucky on June 6, 2011, an army spokeswoman said in a statement.
The prosecution charges that Miller "at or near Masamute Bala, Afghanistan, on or about September 26, 2010, (did) with premeditation murder Atta Mohammed, son of Mohammed Akbar, by means of shooting him in the head with an M9 9mm Beretta pistol."
The army declined any further comment about the case. And this sparse information is as much as Atta Mohammad's family say they have been given about the loss of a loved one and breadwinner.
The U.S. and other foreign forces fighting in Afghanistan have tightened regulations in recent years to try and prevent civilian casualties, recognizing them as a strategic problem.
But they have done little to tighten up a chaotic system of justice and support for the families of victims.
The lack of support is systemic, long-standing and undermines the impact of billions of dollars spent on aid and years of military rules aimed at reducing civilian deaths, experts say.
"It is important that the U.S. is holding their soldiers accountable for wrongdoing," said Sarah Holewinski, executive director of advocacy organization Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict.
"They must also be accountable, however, to the victims' families and ensure they are doing everything they can to dignify their tragic losses -- communicate, investigate, make amends."
"THEIR ENEMIES WILL INCREASE"
No comments:
Post a Comment