Afghanistan: NATO Expects Violence Over Cartoons To Subside In North

Demonstrators in Kabul on 8 February (epa) NATO officials at a base in Mazar-e Sharif say they think protests in northern Afghanistan about cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad are likely to subside soon. Some local Afghans agree, saying the storming of NATO bases in response to the European newspaper cartoons does not have wide support in the north. They suspect much of the uproar has been orchestrated by people with links to the insurgency in the south or neighboring countries like Pakistan or Iran. Some suggest rival militia factions in the north also could be trying to manipulate public anger about the cartoons.

MAZAR-E SHARIF, 8 February 2006 (RFE/RL) -- NATO officers in Afghanistan say they think violent protests against Western targets have passed their peak in northern cities like Maymana, Sheberghan, and Mazar-e Sharif.

The NATO officers are part of the UN-mandated International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). They tell RFE/RL that anger over depictions in European newspapers of the Prophet Muhammad has been exploited by a small number of people.

One British military officer in Mazar-e Sharif says those trying to exploit public anger have "points to score" against ISAF and the West.

Still Supported?

But they say ISAF retains strong legitimacy in northern Afghanistan -- and that the violence is likely to subside in the days ahead.

Captain Gareth Davis is the operations officer at ISAF's northern regional command. He told RFE/RL that violent demonstrations outside of several NATO bases in Afghanistan follow a familiar pattern and should not affect the stabilization effort in the long term.

"I think it will be a spike [of violence] and everything will go quiet again," he said. "There have been previous incidents like this -- both in Afghanistan and all over the world -- from varying sources, whether it be a reaction to something in Guantanamo Bay or something like that. There has been this type of incident before [and] that has all been cleared up. And there hasn't been a long-lasting effect against [NATO personnel] here."

On 7 February, a demonstration in the northwestern city of Maymana turned violent when several hundred protesters stormed a base staffed by a Norwegian-led Provincial Reconstruction Team. Rioters threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and, according to some reports, hand grenades. They also exchanged gunfire with militia troops loyal to General Abdul Rashid Dostum, the forces that currently are responsible for security in Faryab and other northern provinces.

NATO immediately sent two planes full of British soldiers to Maymana as reinforcements. They are part of a rapid response unit stationed near Mazar-e Sharif. Six Danish soldiers in ISAF also were evacuated to Mazar-e Sharif. They were considered at risk because Danish newspapers had been the first to publish the offending cartoons.

Major Fred Whichelo is ISAF's intelligence officer at the NATO base in Mazar-e Sharif -- a forward operations base that serves as headquarters for a joint civilian-military Provincial Reconstruction Team.

Whichelo tells RFE/RL that he does not think the violent protests have jeopardized ISAF's relations with the local population.

"We have got, generally, very good consent from the population here in the north of Afghanistan," Whichelo said. "There have been instances in the past of other controversies. They have passed by without significant violence or difficulty in the north. And that is because we do maintain an extremely good relationship with the local people by having one of those [NATO-led] observation teams on the ground talking to people at the local level."

Claims Of Outside Interference

Both Whichelo and Davis say that although they have no hard evidence at this time, they suspect violence at protests in the north has been orchestrated by people with links to the insurgency in the south, to neighboring countries like Pakistan and Iran, or to disputes between rival Afghan militias in the north.

Captain Davis said the violence was organized by people "with points to prove" against ISAF and the West. This, he said, was virtually certain to have been the case in Kabul where clashes between police and protesters also have occurred outside of NATO and U.S. compounds.

"In Kabul I would say the violence they have had in Kabul is almost definitely caused by people with a massive point to prove," he said. "Not just because they want to prove a point about those Danish cartoons, but because they want [to strike at] ISAF or have a go at Westerners. There are enough people in Kabul who think like that."

Major Whichelo says Mazar-e Sharif has suffered a series of attacks in the past six months linked to outside militants -- or at least carried out by locals known to have sought religious instruction at some of Pakistan's more radical madrassahs.

Previous Violence

A British soldier was killed in an ambush in October by a gunman who had recently returned from Pakistan. A home-made explosive device killed two Swedish soldiers in November. A suicide bomber bungled a December attack in Mazar-e Sharif -- killing only himself with his explosives. Another would-be suicide bomber was arrested by Afghan security forces earlier this week before he could attempt to assassinate a local commander at the center of recent factional disputes in the north.

Police chief Mohammad Noor -- a man with considerable influence around Mazar-e Sharif -- says he agrees that the violence runs counter to the feelings of most Afghans in the north.

Noor told RFE/RL that "elements outside Afghanistan" who may be trying to manipulate anger over the cartoons are those who are unhappy about the presence of NATO-led ISAF forces in Afghanistan. Noor insists that 90 percent of the Afghan people rely on ISAF and are quite content with their presence.

Noor said it is a small group of people who are trying to use the cartoon controversy to undermine NATO in Afghanistan: "As you know, every country has its problems. There are a limited number of people who oppose the government. So we can also say about this case that there is a very limited number of people [involved in the violent demonstrations]. Not all of the people of Afghanistan are [protesting]."

Noor concludes that ISAF will remain important for Afghanistan for as long as security remains important to the Afghan people.