America Afghanistan ally Karzai incited riots over Florida koran burning-NYT and Reuters

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4/2/11, "Protests Over Koran Burning Reach Kandahar," NY Times, by Taimoor Shah and Rod Nordland

"Both Afghan and international news media had initially played down or ignored the actions of Mr. Jones, the Florida pastor. On Thursday, however, President Karzai made a speech and issued statements condemning the Koran burning and calling for the arrest of Mr. Jones for his actions. On Friday, that theme was picked up in mosques throughout Afghanistan.

“Karzai brought this issue back to life, and he has to take some responsibility for starting this up,” said a prominent Afghan businessman, who spoke on the condition of anonymity

• for fear of retribution if he was identified as a critic of the president.

“Karzai’s speech itself provoked people to take such actions,” said Qayum Baabak, a political analyst in Mazar-i-Sharif. “Karzai should have called on people to be patient

• rather than making people more angry.”...

"The mob gathered after three mullahs at Friday Prayer urged action in response to the Koran burning by a pastor, Terry Jones, in Florida on March 20."...

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4/2/11, "More violence over Koran burning," Reuters, Ismael Sameem, Montreal Gazette

"The burning initially passed relatively unnoticed in Afghanistan, but after criticism from President Hamid Karzai, and calls for justice during Friday sermons, thousands poured into the streets in several cities to denounce Jones.

Afghan and UN officials said insurgents had incited violence at peaceful protests. Marches in Kabul, the western city of Herat and northern Tahar province ended without unrest."...

• Some were beaten and stoned to death, one's throat was slit:
  

"In Kandahar, one of the policemen killed and several civilians died from gunshot wounds, said Abdul Qayum Pukhla, the senior health official for the province. The rest of the dead had been beaten and stoned he added....

The throat of one of slain foreigners had been slit, the U.N. said."...

• Shopkeeper Rahim Mohammad said,
  

"“But I don’t feel sorry for UN workers killed, our people are slaughtered by foreigners everyday.”"...

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P.S. "Why then did the Afghan President ignore the recent comments by leftist Bill Maher? Bill Maher told radical far left Congressman Keith Ellison on March 11 that the Koran is a “hate-filled holy book.”"...Gateway Pundit, 4/3/11

via Weasel Zippers