Posted on 02/15/2002 2:36:01 AM PST by Texas Jack
By LAURA KING
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - A mob of Muslim pilgrims enraged over flight delays to the Islamic holy city of Mecca stormed a plane at Kabul airport and beat Afghanistan's aviation minister to death, tossing his body to the tarmac, officials and eyewitnesses said.
The violent outbreak underscored fears about the interim government's ability to establish security in chaotic post-Taliban Afghanistan - and raised questions about the role of international peacekeepers, who were present on the airport grounds at the time of the mob attack.
Afghanistan's Cabinet met in emergency session for several hours late Thursday following the killing of the aviation and tourism minister, Abdul Rahman. The Kabul airport was sealed off Friday morning and white-helmeted Interior Ministry police were stationed every few yards on the roads leading to the main entrance.
"We lost a good man, an educated man," said a top aide to Rahman, Mohammed Yakoub Nuristani. "He wanted to help rebuild Afghanistan."
"The interim administration is shocked, obviously, and very saddened by this incident," said Foreign Ministry spokesman Omar Samad. "We're looking into the criminal actions that have taken place here."
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who arrived Friday for talks with the interim government, immediately conveyed his condolences to Abdullah Abdullah, the foreign minister.
The fatal confrontation was sparked when Rahman went to the Kabul airport Thursday afternoon for a flight to New Delhi, according to accounts from government and Afghan airline officials. Hundreds of pilgrims, stranded at the airport awaiting Saudi visas and transport to Mecca, blocked Rahman's plane, beginning a standoff that went on for about five hours, airline and government officials said.
The mob stormed the plane when Rahman emerged to try to talk to the crowd, said Abdul Wahab Nuristani, the deputy chief of a military division in eastern Afghanistan. Rahman was seized, beaten and his body tossed to the tarmac below, he said, citing witness accounts.
"This is so terrible, so illegal," he said.
Dozens of friends, family and government officials gathered at Rahman's Kabul home as word spread of his death. The mourners listened quietly as a mullah read verses from the Koran.
Rahman, 49, was trained as a medical doctor. He fled Afghanistan when the Taliban took over and had been living in exile in New Delhi. In interviews since taking over as aviation and tourism minister in the interim government, he had spoken enthusiastically of his wish to make Afghanistan a tourist destination.
Despite the killing, two pilgrimage flights left the airport at 2 a.m. and another was to depart later Friday, airport officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Several pilgrims were also hurt during a clash with Rahman's bodyguards at the airport Thursday. Also beaten in the fray were about 10 members of the staff of Afghanistan's Ariana airlines, including its president, said an Ariana employee who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The employee, who was in the airport as tensions built throughout the day, said would-be pilgrims grew angrier and angrier as delays dragged on while they waited in the freezing terminal.
About 1,400 people held bookings and tickets for what were to have been two flights during the day, but neither had taken off by late afternoon, the staffer said.
"They were very, very upset," he said of the pilgrims.
A contingent of British and French peacekeepers, stationed a quarter-mile away in the military part of the airport, were apparently unaware that the situation had flared out of control. Earlier, they had sent food and blankets for the growing crowd.
The security force "knew there was an ongoing incident, but it happened very quickly," said British Capt. Graham Dunlop, a spokesman for the peacekeepers. He said the civilian area of the airport was under the control of Afghan authorities.
"We were not involved," he said. "It's not our jurisdiction."
Dunlop said he did not know how many peacekeepers were on the airport grounds at the time of the mob attack.
Mohammed Anif, a Kabul man who was waiting to see off his father on the pilgrimage, saw the angry mob rush the plane after a rumor ran through the crowd that it was about to take off.
"They went running up the steps and inside the plane, and we saw struggles and a body thrown out of the plane," he said. He said he could not tell from a distance if it was Rahman's.
Some accounts, though, said that Rahman left the plane of his own accord to try to talk to the crowd.
Before the plane was stormed, Anif said he heard people in the crowd talking angrily about the minister using the plane for an official trip while they waited for their own plane to Mecca.
"They were saying that the hajj was the most important thing, and how could he do this," Anif said. "Some were saying they wanted to lie down in front of the plane to keep it from taking off, and others said, 'No, let's stop it another way.'"
The hajj to Mecca - home of Islam's holiest shrine - is one of the pillars of Islam. Muslims who are able-bodied and can afford the journey are obliged to do it at least once in their lifetime.
Since the fall of the Taliban, factional fighting has persisted in pockets of Afghanistan's countryside, but this is the most serious violence yet in the capital since the interim government of Hamid Karzai took over Dec. 22.
Kabul is patrolled by an international peacekeeping force that numbers about 3,200 troops thus far. Karzai has repeatedly appealed for an enlarging of the force and an expansion of its deployment outside of Kabul.
Rahman's funeral was to be held Saturday in Kabul.
Ah, Peace and love, isn't it grand?
I was just about to post this, too! I'll Bump instead. :)
Of course THESE flights didn't have anyone on them that killed the guy.
What a perfect place to use a line from the "the Duke".
"You better believe it, pilgram, or you're dead where you stand!
He is either trying to mislead us or he is a real "box of rocks".
Often, diplomacy boils down to saying "nice doggie!" while looking for a rock.
This ought to really bring in the tourists.
Guess he should've stayed. [Note to self: Do NOT exit the aircraft to address angry mob of peace-loving Muslims.]
Boy oh boy.......talk about ill-tempered. When my flights are delayed, I just take a snooze...........
Hmmmmmmmm (scratching head)...........dunno. What exactly is a "bio Muslim"? Is that one that's alive?
2) Is it common for Muslims engaged in a religious pilgrimage to murder those trying to help them?
Well, you can rock it you can roll it You can stop and you can stroll it at the hajj When the record starts spinnin' You *chalypso* when you chicken at the hajj Do the dance sensation that is sweepin' the nation at the hajj Ah, let's go to the hajj Let's go to the hajj, (oh baby) Let's go to the hajj, (oh baby) Let's go to the hajj Come on, let's go to the hajj Well, you can swing it you can groove it You can really start to move it at the hajj Where the jockey is the smoothest And the music is the coolest at the hajj All the cats and chicks can get their kicks at the hajj Let's go! Let's go to the hajj Let's go to the hajj, (oh baby) Let's go to the hajj, (oh baby) Let's go to the hajj Come on, let's go to the hajj Let's go! Well, you can rock it you can roll it You can stop and you can stroll it at the hajj When the record starts spinnin' You *chalypso* when you chicken at the hajj Do the dance sensation that is sweepin' the nation at the hajj You can swing it you can groove it You can really start to move it at the hajj Where the jockey is the smoothest And the music is the coolest at the hajj. All the cats and chicks can get their kicks at the hajj. Let's go! Let's go to the hajj Let's go to the hajj, (oh baby) Let's go to the hajj, (oh baby) Let's go to the hajj Come on, let's go to the hajj Bah-bah-bah-bah, bah-bah-bah-bah Bah-bah-bah-bah. bah-bah-bah-bah, at the hajj! |
If they can't handle a little "tarmac rage" Afghanistan is going to be in sad shape.
To answer that, I'll have to defer to the classic question from the Philipines, "how many people can fit in a jeepney?"
Answer, always one more.
In Saudi, we used to say the headline would be "India Air 747 crashes, thousands on board killed" (or any other airline from that reigon).
You Anti-Islam Bigots need to give it a rest...
Afghanistan is such a poor country that 1400 people in one city can afford airline tickets to Mecca less than two months after the "war". These people don't need foriegn aid.
Let me guess here...
You're not in (or successful at) 'Sales' are you, Johnny?
(I'd leave you with a traditional moslem parting affirmation, but "May the peace of allah split the skulls of your enemies and splatter their brains and blood onto your greasy, matted hair." might be misinterpreted by these wasckly Cwistians here...)
So what IS the UN's jurisdiction? Handwringing? Or figgering out how to blame it on the US.
So, you're saying it IS OK to kill someone for adultery?
Walked into that one, didn't you?
:)
So, ALL muslims are "Savages"? You people just don't get it, do you?
No, not at all.LoL! I saw it coming...
It isn't a good thing to kill someone for adultry. But before Christ and His sacrifice there were God-given laws society had to obey, like it or not, to prevent harmful practices in a society that was to follow God's laws. It is personalized now, between the sinner and His God.
Your criterion for justice eludes me. The report indicates the victim arrived in the afternoon and was killed some 5 hours later. The follow on flights didn't occur for another 4 hrs which had been previously scheduled, so it doesn't appear that any rush was made to send out more flights.
IMHO, this report is very good justification to begin placing mobs of Muslims on target lists for on-call fires and to be prepared for them to instigate violence.
The report also reveals that these 'Muslim' extremists, and in this case, simply Muslim nomads, aren't that backwards. If they are more accustomed to cultural themes from a previous millenia, then they would be able to control their emotions regarding a delay in a jet aircraft flight.
The report additionally reveals an insight regarding Islam and the actual false belief of its followers. Their actions are more based upon arrogance than on sincere devotion to God. Rather than respecting God's wrath and judgment, a tone is presented where they seek and run to judge others themselves. God is just. Those who murdered the man will have to answer to the Father for their behavior and if they fail to seek Counsel from the Perfect Lamb, I fear they will be found wanting.
You're not in (or successful at) 'Sales' are you, Johnny?
The funny thing is, I AM in sales. And fairly successful at that. I've often said..."If I couldn't talk, I would starve to death". But, I will grant...I'm not much of a writer.
And I'm not even a whiner about racial stuff (I believe Racial Profiling is simple common sense in some cases). I just don't like it in public places (Free Republic) because I don't want to be associated with anti-islam bigots (Or any kind of bigot for that matter). In private discussions, views can be expanded apon to avoid confusion. On message boards, they really can't. I think these "Islam is a religion of peace" comments are growing tiresom around here...Sorry if you don't agree.
Actually, I was hoping to take my children there for Summer Vacation. But I heard the rides were expensive.
SCORE:
SusanUSA - 1
Johnny Shear - 0
Then a flash ahead to bodies being thrown onto the ice.
This is no longer the Middle Ages. Except in Islamic regimes where stoning, mutilation, throat-cutting, and other forms of punishment are still in vogue.
Islamists want the entire world to become the Caliphate and return to the Middle Ages. That's precisely the point.
By "Novel" - if you mean the Bible - yup. I do believe it.
That's cool. And let me make myself clear...
I am "Pro-Religion". I believe religous people make better citizens (In general, of course) than non-religous people. I mean really...How many Christian Crack Whores ARE there? I am just not convinced that Islam, as a religion is bad. Just like I don't think Catholic People are bad. Yet still...I see them bashed here all the time. By so-called "Christians". And quite frankly, I think that's as bad as Limosine Liberals bashing wealthy conservatives.
But, that's just my opinion...
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