Pagah: “Increasing smuggling in Herat”

Text of editorial entitled “Increasing smuggling in Herat” by Afghan Herat University newspaper Pagah on 27 October 2007

Recently, security organizations in Herat Province, particularly the border police, have done their best to seize large amounts of drugs in border regions.

In addition, since the recent replacement of the Herat security commander, security situation has been relatively under control and the police have started to treat people humanely. Of course all this should be appreciated. However, the very question as to whether all these efforts are sufficient and effective enough to help security stay as it is will be answered in the course of time. Let me start with this fact: As a strategic and border town in a country like Afghanistan, which is the largest producer and cultivator of drug in all over the world, Herat has undoubtedly attracted the local and international mafia. This is because Herat can play the role of the best and most proper harbour for drug smugglers to carry out their business. A proof for this fact is the prevailing market of opium, heroin and crystal trade in Herat. As heard repeatedly from high-ranking government officials, some accomplices of the drug mafia and smugglers are working in senior government posts and provincial security officials share the profits with groups of drug smugglers.

Yes, a number of drug smugglers, who have been involved in bloodsheds, are carrying out their business without any fear in Herat Province, too. Unfortunately, these individuals had managed to receive weapons and safety warranty from the police before Mr [Joma] Adel was appointed Herat’s security commander. The men are still continuing their inhumane business by using the facilities they possess. Although, as executive organizations, Herat security officials have untiringly been working to establish security in the province, they will achieve nothing unless they set up foundational, accurate strategies to fight drug smuggling – identifying and arresting important members of the drug mafia. We feel the lack of such measures in the fight against the drugs trade. This is at a time that the anti-narcotics department is operating as a foundation where policies are made. This department is making tough efforts while it does not have a correct understanding of the region and situation. Their efforts resemble the struggle of a gardener who tries to repair the branches of a tree, while its roots have a serious problem.

Furthermore, corruption in government departments and preference of nepotism over competence are the main factors which have provided the ground for the drugs mafia to carry on with their business.

We are proud that drug cultivation has dropped significantly in Herat Province, but we are unaware that supply and demand are closely linked with each other. This means that the presence of drug smugglers in Herat have caused demands to rise in the country. And this market is getting busier and busier every day, which leads to an increase in drug cultivation and production.

On the other hand, drug smugglers are negligent of the tragic side of their business. By preferring their own interests to that of the nation and satisfying their ego, they are leading thousands of young men to self-destruction and bringing sorrow to mothers. They are ignorant that by sending out their stuff to other countries, nations will start to hate Afghans.

We hope that the central government, particularly concerned officials in Herat Province, pay serious attention to this issue so that our national identity and pride will continue to remain the same and that Afghans will continue to have friendly relations with the rest of the world. This will also help prevent many young people inside the country from becoming addicted to this destructive stuff. We hope that we are moving towards a prestigious and renovated Afghanistan.

[Description of Source: Herat Pagah in Dari --Sometimes critical of the government and foreign forces. OSC IAP20071027950070 27 Oct 07]

Pagah: “Increasing smuggling in Herat”

Text of editorial entitled “Increasing smuggling in Herat” by Afghan Herat University newspaper Pagah on 27 October 2007

Recently, security organizations in Herat Province, particularly the border police, have done their best to seize large amounts of drugs in border regions.

In addition, since the recent replacement of the Herat security commander, security situation has been relatively under control and the police have started to treat people humanely. Of course all this should be appreciated. However, the very question as to whether all these efforts are sufficient and effective enough to help security stay as it is will be answered in the course of time. Let me start with this fact: As a strategic and border town in a country like Afghanistan, which is the largest producer and cultivator of drug in all over the world, Herat has undoubtedly attracted the local and international mafia. This is because Herat can play the role of the best and most proper harbour for drug smugglers to carry out their business. A proof for this fact is the prevailing market of opium, heroin and crystal trade in Herat. As heard repeatedly from high-ranking government officials, some accomplices of the drug mafia and smugglers are working in senior government posts and provincial security officials share the profits with groups of drug smugglers.

Yes, a number of drug smugglers, who have been involved in bloodsheds, are carrying out their business without any fear in Herat Province, too. Unfortunately, these individuals had managed to receive weapons and safety warranty from the police before Mr [Joma] Adel was appointed Herat’s security commander. The men are still continuing their inhumane business by using the facilities they possess. Although, as executive organizations, Herat security officials have untiringly been working to establish security in the province, they will achieve nothing unless they set up foundational, accurate strategies to fight drug smuggling – identifying and arresting important members of the drug mafia. We feel the lack of such measures in the fight against the drugs trade. This is at a time that the anti-narcotics department is operating as a foundation where policies are made. This department is making tough efforts while it does not have a correct understanding of the region and situation. Their efforts resemble the struggle of a gardener who tries to repair the branches of a tree, while its roots have a serious problem.

Furthermore, corruption in government departments and preference of nepotism over competence are the main factors which have provided the ground for the drugs mafia to carry on with their business.

We are proud that drug cultivation has dropped significantly in Herat Province, but we are unaware that supply and demand are closely linked with each other. This means that the presence of drug smugglers in Herat have caused demands to rise in the country. And this market is getting busier and busier every day, which leads to an increase in drug cultivation and production.

On the other hand, drug smugglers are negligent of the tragic side of their business. By preferring their own interests to that of the nation and satisfying their ego, they are leading thousands of young men to self-destruction and bringing sorrow to mothers. They are ignorant that by sending out their stuff to other countries, nations will start to hate Afghans.

We hope that the central government, particularly concerned officials in Herat Province, pay serious attention to this issue so that our national identity and pride will continue to remain the same and that Afghans will continue to have friendly relations with the rest of the world. This will also help prevent many young people inside the country from becoming addicted to this destructive stuff. We hope that we are moving towards a prestigious and renovated Afghanistan.

[Description of Source: Herat Pagah in Dari --Sometimes critical of the government and foreign forces. OSC IAP20071027950070 27 Oct 07]

Radio Sahar: Police seize over 130 kg of opium in Herat

Text of report by Afghan female-orientated community Radio Sahar on 15 October

[Presenter] The security forces in [western] Herat Province are reporting the seizure of some drugs. According to the spokesman of the Herat Security Commander, the drugs had been placed in a vehicle. Here is Hami Azad with further details:

[Correspondent] Col Abdorrauf Ahmadi, the deputy security commander of Herat Province, said that security forces have managed to seize over 130 kg of drugs in environs of the city. He added that the drug had been hidden in a vehicle, whose driver was caught red-handed.

[Ahmadi] Thanks to the efforts of the personnel of Herat highway police, 132 kg of opium drug was seized from a car. One person has been arrested in connection with the drugs.

[Correspondent] The smugglers are said to have intended to carry the drugs to Farah Province.

Security forces managed to seize 12 kg of crystal in the centre of the city a few days ago.

Security forces have seized more than 1,500 kg of various types of drugs this month.

[Description of Source: Herat Radio Sahar in Dari -- local independent radio station in Herat run mainly by women. OSC IAP20071015950058 1230 GMT 15 Oct 07]

Radio Sahar: Herat police arrest seven on narcotics smuggling, abduction charges

Text of report by Afghan female-orientated community Radio Sahar on 11 October

[Presenter] Border police are reporting the arrest of seven people. According to the commander of Border Brigade No 4, the men were arrested on charges of drug smuggling and abduction. It is said that one of the officials of the same border brigade has been cooperating with the smugglers. He has also been arrested. Here is Hami Azad with further details:

[Correspondent] Col Rahmatollah Safi, commander of Border Brigade No 4, said one of his colleagues had been arrested on charges of helping the drug smugglers. The man has admitted to his crime under interrogation, he said. Mr Safi added that five other people were arrested for drug smuggling with 120 kg of drugs. The police have also seized a machinegun from the smugglers. The officials of the same brigade have also arrested a man on charges of kidnapping.

[Safi] We have seven accused. Five are drug smugglers who were arrested with a PK machinegun and a vehicle. We also arrested a border policeman, who helped and bribed from the smugglers.

[Correspondent] He added that the border police have seized a BM1 rocket with several rounds in Koh-e Zard, Musa Abad region in a separate operation. He said that unidentified people intended to bring the BM1 into the city. He also reported the discovery of several anti-tank mines in Kohsan District. These weapons and ammunition are seized amid local authorities’ efforts to provide a better ground for the holding of ECO summit. Although officials are saying that security has been tight these days, the presence of insurgents in the environs of the city has posed a threat.

[Description of Source: Herat Radio Sahar in Dari -- local independent radio station in Herat run mainly by women. OSC IAP20071011950064 1230 GMT 11 Oct 07]

Tolu TV: Afghan MPs call on Iran to repatriate underage convicts to Afghanistan

Text of report by Afghan independent Tolo TV, on 10 October

[Presenter] A number of MPs call on the government of Iran to reconsider the death penalty for 16 young Afghan nationals.

The teenagers, ranging between 12 to 16 years of age, had been used by drug smugglers to smuggle drugs into Iran with fake passports.

[Correspondent] The MPs say drug smugglers had deceived the teenagers, and that the government of Iran should not punish the children like adults.

[Babrak Shinwari, MP from Nangarhar Province, in Pashto] As I see the morale of the parliament, even those who have very deep feelings and links with Iran have shown a very serious reaction to this, especially with regard to refugees and these 15 people. If these people are executed, and if this worsens the situation, I do not think we can easily compensate for it. Not only the neighbourly relations but also political relations between Iran and Afghanistan will worsen.

[Fawzia Kofi, MP from Badakhshan Province] We sincerely ask Iranian authorities and Iranian civil society organizations to observe the good neighbourly relations and make sure that the Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to its international obligations. We ask them to take serious measures and release or repatriate the 17 Afghan children – one of them already executed – the 16 Afghan children to Afghanistan.

[Correspondent] Sixteen Afghan teenagers are on death row in Iran. These teenagers are aged between 12 and 16.

The lucrative drugs trade makes smugglers to use poor and deprived children. All these teenagers are residents of Ghorian District of Herat Province.

We are going to the Foreign Affairs Ministry to ask what the ministry has done, and what it will do in the future, to save the deceived teenagers.

[Sultan Ahmad Bahin, spokesman, Foreign Affairs Ministry] Authorities of the Islamic Republic of Iran have promised that they will discuss the issue with other officials in their country. We are awaiting their response. We hope, in view of the friendly relations that we have with the Islamic Republic of Iran, the fact that we are neighbours and share a common language and religion, and in view of the fact that the Islamic Republic of Iran has played a good role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan, we hope this [presumably execution] does not happen.

[Correspondent] Lawyers believe there is no law anywhere in the world based on which children should be punished like adults.

[Description of Source: Kabul Tolu Television in Dari -- Independent television.  OSC IAP20071011950003 Kabul Tolu Television in Dari 1400 GMT 10 Oct 07]

Radio Sahar: Afghan policeman killed in clash with drug traffickers in Herat Province

Excerpt from report by Afghan female-orientated community Radio Sahar on 8 October

[Presenter] A clash has occurred between policemen and drug traffickers in Koshk-e Kohna District of Herat Province. The Border Brigade No 4 reports that the clash broke out in Kolaray village of Koshk-e Kohna District last night [7 October].

[Correspondent] A number of security forces of the Border Brigade No 4 were ambushed by drug traffickers while patrolling in the Kolaray village of Koshk-e Kohna District yesterday. Col Hamidollah, head of staff of the brigade, reports that one policeman has been killed and another wounded in the clash between the two sides. He added that two smugglers were also injured in the skirmish.

According to the head of staff of the brigade, the security forces managed to seize 80 kg of narcotics after the clash. [Passage omitted: official's remarks, repetition]

This is happening at a time when the security forces confiscated one tonne of narcotics in the centre of the city yesterday. The border brigade also seized 100 kg of narcotics and killed a drug trafficker in a separate operation in Ghowrian District of Herat Province a few days ago.

The government officials claim that the drug dealers are trying to use Herat as a route for smuggling drugs into Turkmenistan and Iran, which have borders with the province.

[Description of Source: Herat Radio Sahar in Dari -- local independent radio station in Herat run mainly by women. OSC IAP20071008950132 Herat Radio Sahar in Dari 1230 GMT 08 Oct 07]

AIP: Herat Police kill drug smuggler near Turkmenistan border

Herat, 6 October: One [drug] smuggler has been killed and four others arrested along with 100 kg of opium in [western] Afghanistan.

Speaking to Afghan Islamic Press, the commander of 4th border brigade of Herat police, Gen Rahmatollah Sapi, said that one [drug] smuggler was killed and four others were arrested along with around 100 kg of opium in three different incidents in Koshk-e Kohna and Ghowrian districts yesterday.

He added: “The first incident took place in Koshk-e Kohna district during which one person was arrested along with a weapon while smuggling opium to Turkmenistan.”

“The two other incidents took place in Ghowrian district at a time when the police encountered the drug smugglers and clashed with them,” Sapi added.

“One drug smuggler was killed in the clash and three others were arrested,” he said.

It is worth pointing out that clashes mostly take place between the police and drug smugglers in these border districts.

[Description of Source: Peshawar Afghan Islamic Press in Pashto -- Peshawar-based agency, staffed by Afghans. The agency used to have good contacts with Taliban leadership; however, since the fall of the Taliban regime, it now describes itself as independent and self-financing. OSC IAP20071006950019 Peshawar Afghan Islamic Press in Pashto 1916 GMT 06 Oct 07]

AFP: 4 Tons of Liquid Heroin, 1 Ton of Hashish Seized in Western Afghanistan

KABUL, Oct 7, 2007 (AFP) – Afghan authorities said Sunday they had seized four tonnes of liquid heroin, one of their biggest hauls yet, as well as one tonne of hashish packed to look like a brand of instant yeast.

The finds were made separately near the border with Iran — one of the main smuggling routes for drugs from Afghanistan, which produces 93 percent of the world’s opium used to make heroin.

The heroin was discovered in the southwestern province of Farah when a drugs laboratory was raided on Saturday, Deputy Interior Minister General Daud Daud told reporters in Kabul. Four men were arrested.

“They used to export the drugs in liquid form as animal medicine to Iran,” Daud said, adding the find was one of the government’s biggest.

“In total 4,030 kilogrammes (8,866 pounds) of heroin was seized and the lab has been destroyed.” A tonne of chemicals used to make the heroin was also discovered, he said.

In the western province of Herat, officials showed journalists a shipping container holding hundreds of 500 gramme packets of a brand of instant yeast called Hollandia.

Inside the wrapping, which included the colours of the Dutch flag, was a second covering around dark hashish that read “Black Gold” and “Pak delight.”

The drugs were found at a customs office at the main border crossing between Afghanistan and Iran, Herat province governor Sayed Hussain Anwari said.

Afghanistan’s opium production this year jumped by around a third to 8,200 tonnes annually, according to the United Nations.

Most of the opium is converted to heroin within the country, it said in its annual drugs survey released in August. The main markets for Afghanistan’s opium include Europe and Central Asia.

The cultivation of cannabis, used to make hashish, increased from 50,000 hectares (123,500 acres) in 2006 to 70,000 hectares this year, the survey said.

[Description of Source: Hong Kong AFP in English -- Hong Kong service of the independent French press agency Agence France-Presse. OSC JPP20071007969026 Hong Kong AFP in English 1337 GMT 07 Oct 07]

Rijeka Novi List: Commentary Says Croatian Politicians Ignore War in Afghanistan, Danger to Troops

Sept. 26, 2007

[Commentary by Denis Romac in the column "Just in Case": "Who Will Declare That We Are at War"]

When the rebels captured them, there were two of them, dressed as civilians riding in a Japanese-made SUV together with an interpreter and a driver, both Afghans, who were released shortly afterwards. That happened last Sunday [ 22 September] in the vicinity of Herat, a town in western Afghanistan. The names of the persons who were kidnapped have never been released, although it is known that they are highly trained agents of Italian SISMI [Intelligence and Military Security Service; now renamed Italian Agency for External Security and Intelligence].

Right after they were captured — this was the first case of kidnapping of foreign soldiers in Afghanistan, although civilians are very frequently kidnapped in that country because of high ransoms — Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi launched a diplomatic action for the release and rescue of his soldiers. Italian diplomats took advantage of the ongoing session of the UN General Assembly in New York to request mediation in the release of the Italians. They asked Afghan mediator Hamid Karzai, as well as Iranian leaders in Teheran, for help but international forces in Afghanistan suddenly launched an operation for the release of the kidnapped Italians the day before yesterday. Result: the SISMI agents were released but they were seriously wounded during the action and one of them is currently fighting for his life, while nine Taliban kidnappers were killed.

War Zone in All of Afghanistan

The details of the kidnapping and release have still not been revealed, nor is it known whether the Italians were seriously injured by Taliban or allied bullets, like a year ago in Baghdad, when the Americans killed a SIMSI Commander Nicola Calipari, who was in charge of the operation for the rescue of abducted Il Manifesto reporter Giuliana Sgrena.

Italian soldiers were abducted this time, even though that could have happened to the members of any of the 38 contingent participating in NATO’s ISAF [International Security Assistance Force] mission in Afghanistan. In other words, it could have happened not only to Italian or US, but also to Slovene or even Croatian ISAF members. Indeed, there are far more Italian than Croatian soldiers in Afghanistan: as many as 2,290 Italians and only some 200 Croatian soldiers, even though the number of Croatian ISAF members will soon rise to as many as 300.

The latest reports from Afghanistan seem to be materializing the darkest forebodings of the period of about a year ago, the beginning of a major operation, in the framework of which the Americans initiated the most extensive operation for the destruction of rebel forces ever, in which no occupying force has yet been successful, not even the US force six years ago or the British force a hundred years ago.

All of Afghanistan has become a war zone, a war inferno, and it is no longer just its southern or eastern parts, toward the border with Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden is allegedly hiding, that are dangerous. Herat — an area where the Croatian soldiers are stationed and where they came under a serious attack by the Taliban — is under Italian command today. It was a peaceful zone only a year ago. Two Spanish soldiers were killed and another two wounded on the same day the special units were rescuing the Italians in the vicinity of Herat.

There has been a spate of violence in the country and even the Americans admit there is no difference between the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, apart from the fact that the bloodshed in Iraq receives widespread media coverage while the war in Afghanistan does not. This is probably due to the fact that there are far more Americans in Iraq than in Afghanistan but this could not be an excuse for the Croatian public that has been treating the conflicts in Afghanistan as something that is happening to somebody else far away from here.

Most Dangerous Job

Croatian soldiers were sent to fight in that war but Croatian politicians who sent them there do not seem to want to face up to the fact that there is war in Afghanistan. At the beginning of the mission several years ago, Croatian soldiers were hoping they would be building roads and rebuilding schools, which was supposed to win over the local population in the framework of the ISAF mission. However, the US offensive against the Taliban has made those plans obsolete and the Americans now exert enormous pressure on all national contingents, including the Croatian contingent, to abolish all restrictions and help the American in direct fighting with the Taliban. That has radically changed the character of the ISAF mission in Afghanistan but it has also changed the lives of Croatian soldiers there, as they suddenly found themselves in the dangerous southern region, as well as in high-risk operations of patrol and convoy escorts targeted by the Taliban. They also clash with the local opium dealers, which is considered the most dangerous job in that rugged country that is said to be among the most dangerous countries in the world.

Croatian soldiers are more and more often caught in artillery barrage and around planted bombs that go off in their vicinity, but that does not make the public more aware of the cruel war in which Croatian soldiers also take part. The case of kidnapping of the two SISMI agents has reopened the discussion on the withdrawal of the Italians from Afghanistan, while such discussions are already under way in Germany, as well as in other countries whose soldiers fight in Afghanistan.

[Description of Source: Rijeka Novi List (Internet Version-WWW) in Croatian -- independent, privately owned daily. OSC EUP20070926040002 Rijeka Novi List (Internet Version-WWW) in Croatian 26 Sep 07]

Madrid ABC: Afghan Police Source: Herat Crime Gangs May ‘Soon’ Turn Against ISAF Troops

[Report by M. Ayestaran and P. Cervilla: "Armed Gangs and Radical Clerics, New Threats for Spain"]

Herat / Madrid — Abduction is the latest buzz word in Herat. The local populace is being terrorized by an unprecedented crime wave: Scores are being settled, armed robbery is the order of the day… Such things are not standard practice for the Taliban, and local police suggest that they are the work of local gangs, who have taken to the streets to enforce their own law after realizing that the international forces are powerless. “All of this is happening, for the time being at least, alongside the Italian forces (which are deployed in the city’s downtown area — ABC editor’s note) and the Spanish forces, but we believe that it may soon turn against them,” an Afghan crime police officer said.

The most important gang has its headquarters in the district of Seyawshan, on the road to the airport some 20 kilometers from the city’s historic center, and where most of the Spanish forces are stationed. Its leader is one Gholam Yahya, who has been waging an open struggle against the government in Kabul since he was thrown out of high office in Herat’s municipal government a year ago. A former Mojahedin commander and right-hand-man to local warlord Ismail Khan, he now heads up the rebellion of those who are disenchanted with President Karzai and with the peace forces. His stance and his methods are beginning to attract recruits among the local populace, who can see how the situation in the country is becoming increasingly unstable as time goes by.

The presence of radical clerics has also helped to boost the local people’s mood of hostility toward the foreigners. Friday prayers in the sanctuary at Gazarqah, right in the middle of town, have turned into a full fledged rally, with people shouting and hollering against the central government and against the international forces.

Opium Traffic

The clerics’ sermons address a variety of issues ranging from the frivolity that has gained a foothold in the media since Karzai came to power, to the international forces’ alleged involvement in opium trafficking. But the message that is starting to get across increasingly strongly is a message of jihad, a message of holy war against “the new occupiers,” by which the preachers mean the international troops.

“That was not usual in downtown Herat, and no one is doing anything to prevent it. If the situation goes on deteriorating like this, we are going to get the point where people will be going down to Shewan (the location of the last attack on Spanish forces — ABC editor’s note) to plead with the Taliban to return in order to restore law and order,” a businessman who runs a hotel for foreigners in the city complained.

Meanwhile, the situation is starting to get more complicated for Spain. In addition to terrorist attacks, some of its units are now having to deal with technical problems. According to Afghan national television, a Spanish “Superpuma” helicopter reportedly failed last Tuesday [25 September] as it was preparing to evacuate four Afghan Army troopers injured when a car bomb exploded in Gormach. The Spaniards, who were asked for the helicopter that is part of the PRT [provincial reconstruction team] in Qala i Naw, cited “technical problems” preventing them from moving. While some sources hinted that it may have been an attack and that the aircraft did not have any technical problem affecting its rotor blade, the Defense Ministry has dismissed that version of events.

[Description of Source: Madrid ABC (Internet Version-WWW) in Spanish -- center-right national daily. OSC EUP20070927178002 Madrid ABC (Internet Version-WWW) in Spanish 27 Sep 07]