The Guardian of Liberty - Nemzetőr, 1985 (8. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1985-01-01 / 1. szám

Villigers Massacred as Rutine ’’Punishment” (Continued from page 1) the orders of your superiors and because of your own fearf“ The young Estonian replied: „That is how it turns out . . . For in that situation you do not know whom you are shooting, an Afghan or one of your own . . .“ In view of all this, morale in the Soviet army of occupation was low, the ex-soldier said. He mentioned the military authorities’ failure to provide enough food. This resulted in soldiers giving Afghans weapons in exchange for fruit and bread. Troops also stole food from travellers and from people whose homes they raided. The Estonian said that soldiers from Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and the USSR’s other Central Asian constituent republics knew so little Russian that they could understand only simple orders in that language. Partly because of language difficulties, they had bad relations with other Soviet troops. The ex-soldiers also found that the ^Central Asians were possessed by „blind rage“ over being forced to fight people of the same ethnic and religious origins as themselves. He described what he saw of the Afghan army, that of the Soviet-controlled Babrak Karmai regime. In his view, these soldiers were „old men“ or „semi-derelicts.“ The Estonian reported that he had met a number of Bulgarian troops guarding the Kabul-Jalalabad highway. They had arrived in Afghanistan towards the end of 1982. Concerning relations between Karmal-regime officials and the Soviet army ,he said: „Our con­tacts were limited . . . But generally 1 gained the impression . . . that we were a shield for them. We did not inspire them particularly. For them we were simply like a thick, fear-inspiring club that gave them the courage to scare others. „They were never antagonistic towards Soviet troops, as without us they could accomplish nothing.“ The Estonian was In Afghanistan in 1981 and 1982, mainly in the Kandahar area and around Kabul. In January it was reported in the official Mos­cow Press that a memorial to Senior Sergeant Nikolai Chepik, who was killed on active service in Afghanistan, had been erected in his native village in Belorussia. Chepik, a 20-year-old member of a paratroop platoon, was posthumously awarded the title „Hero of the Soviet Union.“ According to Yugoslav Press reports, this is the first time that the Soviet authorities have put up a memorial to a member of the USSR’s armed services killed in Afghanistan. In a Moscow Radio broadcast on January 12, a Kabul correspondentt gave a talk on how Soviet troops were „doing their internationalist duty“ and giving „fraternal internationalist assistance to the Afghan people.“ The guerillas show Dr. Todenhöfér (M.) some of their weapons. Modern ones required ... Invaders ’in a Quagmire’ An informed politico-military observer employed by Saudi Arabia’s official information media in Riyad said in a recent commentary: „When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979, the Soviet leaders believed that the Soviet army’s task would be easy in view of its sophisticated capabilities. „However, what has happened and is still hap­pening today has confirmed beyond any shadow of doubt that the Soviet invading army has fallen into a quagmire... Military observers are un­animous that the Afghan mujahidin (Muslim guer­rillas) have foiled Soviet strategy in Afghanistan.“ The Russians tried unsuccessfully to limit the mujahidin’s operations and in doing so used all sorts of advanced weapons, including those pro­hibited internationally, such as chemical weapons. Soviet aircraft bombed Afghan villages and killed „innocent civilians in a war of mass annihi­lation.“ The Russians also conducted a „scorched­­earth policy The commentator added that the Soviet military presence had been confined to limited areas, with the mujahidin in control of more than 80 per cent of Afghan territory. In conclusion, he said: „The Afghan jihad (holy war) requires more Islamic backing because what is happening in Afghanistan is an attempt by forces of apostasy to wipe out the Islamic identity of this Muslim country.“ 2 APPEAL TO ISLAMIC GOVERNMENTS The World Islamic League’s council, meeting in Jiddah recently, urged Muslim governments to press the Soviet Govern­ment to withdraw its armed forces from Afghanistan. The council also condemned these forces' use of internationally-banned chemical weapons against the Islamic people of Afghanistan and appealed for everybody to denounce „these barbaric acts." The council recommended giving assist­ance to the Afghan refugees in the health, education and social spheres. Indonesians Call for Sanctions „It would be proper for the free world, in­cluding the non-aligned and Muslim countries, to app'y political and economic sanctions to persuade the Soviet Union to withdraw its forces unconditionally from Afghanistan." So said Lukman Harun, Chairman of the Indonesian-Afghan People’s Solidarity Commit­tee (KSRIA), at a recent Press conference in Jakarta. He called upon the Indonesian people to step up their support for the people of Afghanistan in their struggle against the regime of Babrak Karmai and the Soviet army of occupation. Lukman Harun added that all peace-loving countries should not only give more attention to the Afghan crisis but more importantly should increase their material support for the Muslim people of Afghanistan. He called on the United Nations to help achieve a speedy settlement of the problem. The only way, he added, was for the Soviet Union to withdraw its forces and honour the Afghan people's legitimate right to self-deter­mination, as well as to make possible the return of the Afghan refugees in neighbouring coun­tries, who now numbered more than three million. The Afghan people’s fighting spirit would not be broken despite the occupying forces’ brutal actions and their use of various modern weapons. JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1985

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