DATE=4/1/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=AFGHANISTAN-U-N RIGHTS (L-ONLY)
NUMBER=2-260836
BYLINE=AYAZ GUL
DATELINE=ISLAMABAD
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Afghanistan's Taleban authorities are
rejecting allegations by a United Nations special
investigator, who says the dominant Taleban group has
committed serious human rights violations. From
Islamabad, Ayaz Gul reports.
TEXT: A Taleban spokesman says the allegations made
by a U-N official are baseless and do not reflect the
real situation in Afghanistan. He says the country
now has a fully functional legal system that is taking
care of complaints of human rights violations.
An Afghan news agency (Afghan Islamic Press) quotes
the spokesman as rejecting U-N allegations that the
Taleban is forcing young people to take part in the
Afghan civil war.
U-N special investigator Kamal Hossain says he
gathered evidence of large-scale human rights abuses
during his three trips to Afghanistan and neighboring
Pakistan last year. He says the Taleban is guilty of
forced displacement of people, the deliberate burning
of homes and the summary executions of civilians,
including women and children.
The Taleban movement is urging the United Nations to
stop issuing what it calls "unjust and baseless"
statements.
The Taleban has introduced strict Islamic law in the
90 percent of Afghanistan it controls. It has been
unable to remove opposition forces from their bases in
the north of the country. The United Nations says
that two-decades of armed conflict has destroyed the
Afghan economy and that much of the country's income
comes from the illegal production of opium. (SIGNED)
NEB/AG/JP
01-Apr-2000 09:07 AM EDT (01-Apr-2000 1407 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
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