Targeted killing of Hazaras a clear example of ‘genocide’

KABUL (SW) – The killing of 10 Halo Trust deminers in Baghlan province of Afghanistan has been widely condemned domestically as well as internationally.

Many social media users say that the attackers’ search and targeting of the ethnic Shiite Hazara community deminers is a clear example of ‘genocide’.

There are calls from the citizens on the government to investigate and acknowledge the ongoing genocide of Hazaras in Afghanistan.



Last week, a number of Afghan citizens inside and outside Afghanistan launched a Twitter campaign to highlight the ethnic genocide of the Hazaras.

This came after the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (IHRC) reacted to an attack on the Sayyid al-Shuhada school in the Dasht-e-Barchi area west of Kabul, saying in a statement that the country’s Hazara population was at risk of genocide.

Two days back, masked gunmen attacked the Halo Trust mines cleaners’ camp in Baghlan province. The camp chief and a number of staffers who survived said the attackers were looking for Hazaras.

“What happened at the camp was premeditated murder,” said James Cowan, the Hallo Trust’s chief executive. “We could be fearful of what is happening in Afghanistan… We have been through all up and downs of life and deaths in Afghanistan, We are going to stay, we are there for the people for Afghanistan and we still have a job to be done”, James Cowan, the trust’s CEO said in a video statement.

He said most of those killed were Hazaras.

Analyst Amin Ahmadi said the religious and racial hatred remained the main cause of genocide throughout the history. “I have written many times that the Hazaras are being systematically eliminated and killed because of their ethnicity and religion”, he said in a social media post.

Another political commentator and author Shafaq Rahimi said the silence of the international community on this issue was ’unacceptable’.

Akram Gizabi, an Afghan citizen in the United States, wrote on his Twitter page, “When there is prejudice and racism, any issue can be denied, as some deny the genocide of Jews in World War II. For some people, the killing of Hazaras is like a reward, and it does not occur to them to call it genocide.”

These citizens are calling on the government to recognize this killing spree as genocide of Hazaras in Afghanistan.

Lawyer Harun Rahimi said in this regard that genocide has three components. “The first component is a series of acts, such as the mass murder of a group, torture, harassment of a group, and the prohibition of procreation among members of a group. The second component is that these acts takes place specifically against a particular ethnic, religious, or racial group, and that the victims have a group identity”, he said.


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On the other hand, four days ago, the AIHRC said that 560 people had died in fourteen attacks on Hazara citizens in the past five years alone. Citing its assessments, the commission said that Hazara citizens are at risk of genocide and has called for an extensive and in-depth investigation by an international panel.

UNAMA has also condemned the attack on HALO Turst, saying that mine cleaners not only save lives, but also endanger their own lives.

According to analysts, the prosecution of crimes that indicate genocide depends on the will of governments, and if the government does not act, it will be difficult for international organizations to investigate.

ENDS

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