There are several new developments in the attempt to pressure the government of Afghanistan to overturn the death penalty imposed on journalism student Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh.
The Wall Street Journal has published a commentary by Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner, which very much captures the core issues. In Journalism Is Not a Capital Crime, he writes:
The real questions that must be asked are: Is post-Taliban Afghanistan a country that executes citizens for peacefully questioning some aspect of Islam? What about all the rhetoric of Afghan freedom and democracy? Wouldn’t executing Mr. Kaambakhsh render it embarrassingly hollow? For how can Afghanistan claim that it is on the path to being a free, democratic state, and then put to death one of its own citizens for reasons that evoke, rather chillingly, the darkest days of the Taliban?
~ snip ~
I join groups such as Reporters Without Borders in calling for President Karzai to do whatever is within his powers to spare Mr. Kaambakhsh. If this death sentence is carried out, it would not only badly damage the credibility of his government, but it would once again raise serious questions about the viability of democracy in Afghanistan, and vindicate the skeptics at a time when the nation critically needs believers.
Meanwhile, in Britain, The Independent has launched a campaign to have the British government apply all possible pressure on Aghanistan to overturn the ruling. Roy Greenslade has details in his post, Why all journalists should support the campaign to save Pervez from execution. He adds:
I have signed. Every journalist should sign, not simply because Kambaksh is “one of us”, not even because his conviction is a denial of press freedom, but because it is barbaric to put anyone to death for standing up for people’s human rights.
Last night, at the urging of Terry Glavin, a Vancouver journalist of some note, I sent the following email to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper:
Dear Prime Minister Harper:
As a Canadian, I am appealing to you to bring all the persuasive power of the Canadian government to bear on the government of Afghanistan to overturn the death sentence that has been passed on Sayed Parwez Kambaksh.
To allow this decision to remain unchallenged, to not do all we can as Canadians to bring pressure to bear on their government, would make a mockery of the efforts of our troops to help Afghans finally build a stable and modern nation. As much as we have committed to helping the military cause, which I support, we should commit to taking moral stands.
I realize the normal rules of diplomacy are that we do not interfere with the internal operations of legally elected governments, but the situation in Afghanistan is hardly normal. We have made a commitment to Afghanistan and we need to go all the way with that commitment.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
I urge all of you to make yourself aware of this case, to sign the British petition mentioned above and to send your own letters and emails to Harper and other Canadian government figures. We need to stand with Sayed Parwez Kaambakhsh as journalists and as people who care.
TAGS: SAYED OARWEZ KAAMBAKHSH
