Dear Sir/Madam, Honorable Prosecutor,
For the last 22 years our organization has worked in Afghanistan running schools and clinics and we are, like most of the rest of the world, extremely disturbed by the recent turn of events with the implacable and destructive incursion by the Taliban.
With respect to your expertise, we would like to sincerely suggest a radical and prompt move before it is too late: issue a warrant immediately to arrest all Taliban leaders abroad. This would be on the grounds of crimes against humanity and aggression – for murdering, flogging, and abusing people and causing this massive exodus of Afghans. It is time to put out this raging flame of inhumanity.
Issuing this warrant, putting handcuffs on Taliban leaders and taking away their power, showing that the world will not tolerate them, will help put out this fire. Such simple handcuffs would be a spark of hope. Seeing these men being in handcuffs would be a thousand times more powerful than the ‘Mother Of All Bombs” dropped on Afghanistan. It would neutralize and demoralize the Taliban and would empower those fighting against them. The followers of the arrested leaders would then also face a cascade of legal consequences. Thus it is possible that internationally arresting a few dozen Taliban leaders would protect the stability and existence of millions of lives.
In retrospect, it’s a bit like doing something about Hitler in 1939. By 1945 the world was very sorry it was too late by then. But if radical action had been taken in 1939, the world would have escaped radical suffering. The Taliban’s acts, which have certainly been proven, sound much like the totalitarian actions of the Nazis. This is the chance to show that we have all learned from the mistakes of being too hesitant to act, and that we understand the importance of being bravely proactive in order to prevent more bloodshed.
The law is beautiful and impartial and protects populations – we are not sure if politics and politicians do the same. Globally we are at your mercy; you are the legal experts who can do something. So please, do something.
We look forward to hearing from you and seeing the spectacular scene of justice that you, unlike any other entity, can bring about.
Respectfully,
Mostafa Vaziri, MD, PhD (Iranian-American doctor, university scholar and aid worker)
Allison Lide (American Montessori educator)
and the staff of Medical, Education and Peace Organization (MEPO) in Kabul
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Medical, Education and Peace Organization (MEPO)
MEPO’s primary project is the Garden of Flowers Montessori Preschool in Kabul.