Since the US war on Afghanistan, there have been independent investigations and a series of tribunals on human rights violations committed by the Northern Alliance while in compliance with the US military. April 13th marked the sixth Japanese Afghanistan International Tribunal Open Forum in Kyoto. There have been a series of open forums in Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and more. Activists in Japan have come together to expose the truth on mounting evidence of human rights violations during the Afghan war. Violations that neither the US nor the Northern Alliance will own up to. Among the speakers at the Kyoto open forum was Kenji Katsui, who traveled to Afghanistan with Global Exchange to report about the civilian atrocities. He found evidence of Cluster bombs which split into 3 directions as they fall and then those 3 split into hundreds. Those that do not explode are picked up by children who think it is a medical kit and then the bomb usually goes off. Katsui san saw marks of shrapnel on homes, in neighborhoods where only civilians lived and with the now disabled people he met. “This”, he said, “is a war crime”. As 600 people gathered for this open forum to learn and teach, he felt that, “this {open forum} helps the Iraqi people”; as “Iraq is a continuation to these atrocities”.
As we gathered into the hall, we watched a film titled “Afghan Massacre-the Convoy of Death”. The film reported mass graves recently uncovered. In one incident, 7,000 prisoners (Taliban and others) in Konduz were moved to another location, quite far from where they started. But only 3,015 prisoners arrived. No one knows what happened to the rest of them, only mass graves found. Due to so many prisoners, there was no way people could travel in the few open aired trucks available. Instead, 25 trucks carrying huge containers were confiscated and filled with as many prisoners as possible. One soldier, visually unidentified on the film, explained that the prisoners started screaming for air, so they were told to stop and ordered to shoot holes into the containers. But, they shot at random and the people closest to the walls usually died. Blood could be seen dripping from the holes as the doors were kept shut and the drivers moved on. Another unidentified soldier upon seeing the end result of the convoy remarked, “This is the most revolting thing in my life.”
Others spoke of the abuses and politics of this war-Masuda Sultan spoke of women’s issues, Narihiko Ito’s report was heard on the importance of the Afghan oil pipeline for the US, and Professor Taketatsu Watanabe spoke on the role of mass media in the US and Japan and why Japan is a “lap dog” for the US. The day ended with music and a few questions and there was a feeling of accomplishment as so many had attended the forum. While this is definitely positive, more interaction with the audience would have made this forum a truly open and .shared experience. Something I hope to see more of in the future. There is talk of doing another exposure in Afghanistan as well as more open forums, for those interested- please contact RAFIQ－(meaning “friends” in Hazara, a minority in Afghanistan.) www.iTrek.jp/~rafiq/ email- rafiq (at) iTrek.jp Fax- 072-684-0231

Only when the eye-witnesses receive support and safety will they be willing to speak out officially in an actual International Tribunal. Both Afghanistan and the US have said they will look into these issues, but the safety of those involved still has not been guaranteed. If it is proven to be true that the US knew of these atrocities and yet did nothing about it, this would be a violation of the Geneva Accords and the US must take responsibility and action for this.