Afghanistan: ‘Let Our People Live': Herat Activists Call for End to War

A peaceful demonstration against the war and the killing of civilians in Afghanistan was launched in Herat on Thursday, with social activists calling on the government to clarify its position on the Tailban. The demonstration, organised by an activist group which calls itself the "Young Intellectuals Association", expressed anger over the ongoing war and the death of civilians. The activists stood outside the Herat provincial governor's office, chanting anti-war slogans and demanding the Taliban to cease its attacks on civilian organisations. Slogans written on placards and blackboards had messages such as "Stop burning our schools" and "We want peace". Leader of the association Samia Srosh said: "With this civic action, we want to prove that our people are tired of war, and we condemn the latest attacks." Coordinator of civil societies organizations in Herat Khalil Parsa said: "We criticize the insurgents' actions and we want them to stop destroying our country further. Let our people live." The activists said the government needed to clarify its position on the Taliban after President Hamid Karzai referred to the Taliban as brothers in a public address on Tuesday. The demonstrators carried pictures depicting the war and its victims. "The pictures showed the reality of the true victims of war - these victims were neither involved in politics nor in war," a member of the Herat provincial council Sayed Wahidullah Qattali commented. One activist Atifa Mansory said: "Our people, especially our youth, are tired of war and this movement is really admirable." Last week, eight civilians and three policemen died and as many as 12 were wounded when three suicide bombers detonated a vehicle at the Herat government district headquarters.