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The ongoing reported abuse of detainees by US military in Afghanistan would facilitate Taliban- linked militants to exploit the situation for their own propaganda to mobilize local support, local observers said Sunday.
At least two suspected Afghan terrorists have died at the US military detention center in Bagram, 50 km north of capital city, the headquarters of over 20,000 strong US-led coalition forces in the post-Taliban nation.
In addition to the reported activity of detainees' maltreatment at the US holding facilities, the US military, according to media reports, has burned the bodies of Taliban militias, which are forbidden in Islam, the ruling religion in Afghanistan and the region.
A footage broadcast by SBS, an Australian television network last month indicated the US troops burned two corpses of Taliban fighters in a village in southern Kandahar province, the former stronghold of Taliban, and taunt other militias. The act sparked outrage in the conservative Afghanistan.
Afghan leaders including President Hamid Karzai strongly denounced the act and called for investigation into the subject.
"Abusing detainees' rights, or torturing prisoners, would bring opposing effect and definitely facilitate Taliban and terrorism to exploit the situation for their own propaganda in order to mobilize local support," renown political observer Qasim Akhgar maintained.
He noted that Afghans did not expect human rights violation from the US military in Afghanistan as they had helped Afghans to get rid of the Taliban and terrorists' clutches.
"Violating human rights and torturing people is the emblem of Taliban and terrorists, but not the emblem of soldiers of US army," Akhgar pointed out.
The US military, he said, had come here to root out the Taliban and terrorism.
"The trend, if goes unchecked, would also affect Afghan law enforcing personnel to follow the same policy in tackling law breakers," the analyst opined referring to the training by US instructors to Afghan law enforcing agencies particularly the police.
Piling complaints over the reported detainees abuse forced the US military to initiate a thorough investigation early last year, and the outcome of the probe, carried out by General Jacoby has yet to be made public.
Some 400 suspected Taliban and al-Qaida Afghans reportedly have been languishing in the 23 holding facilities run by the US military in Afghanistan.
"Tactic of highhandedness and torture of prisoners adopted by the US military would cause distrust between Afghan people and government and finally benefit Taliban and al-Qaida terrorists to boost their ranks," eminent journalist Syed Najibullah Hashimi observed.
Taliban's recent violent attacks, Hashimi went on to say, was the counter productive result of the treatment applied by US military to poor Afghan detainees at the detention centers.
Usually the US army denies the reported detainees abuse in Afghanistan. It has refused the Afghan rights to visit the holding facilities by saying the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) regularly visits the detention centers.
The US military has denied that its soldiers committed any crimes by burning two bodies of Taliban fighters in Kandahar last month.
"Our investigation found there was no intent to desecrate the remains, but only to dispose of them for hygienic reasons," operational commander of the US forces General Jason Kamiya told newsmen in Kandahar city on Saturday.
However, he added that disciplinary action would be taken against four soldiers involved in the case.
"Continued violation of human rights by US military in Afghanistan would change the minds of Afghans in favor of Taliban as they did not expect rights violation from the US military when they respect them as their liberators," Hashimi added.
The reported rights violation by the US servicemen is also a matter of concern among the official circles in the Afghan government.
"Burning human body or maltreating prisoners is an offence, and the offenders should be punished," deputy speaker of Presidential Palace Siamak Herawi told Xinhua.
"US troops present in Afghanistan should respect Afghan culture and those who violate the culture should be punished, and this is the stance of the government of Afghanistan," Herawi emphasized.
(Xinhua News Agency November 28, 2005)
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