News
Deadly 2007 Dutch attack on Afghan compound illegal, court rules
A court in the Netherlands orders the country to compensate families of the 20 victims killed in the air strike.
(Al Jazeera) A court in the Netherlands has ruled that a 2007 bombing of a residential compound in Afghanistan by Dutch forces was unlawful, and it ordered the country to pay compensation to the victims’ families.The District Court of The Hague on Wednesday found that the nighttime attack that killed about 20 civilians violated international humanitarian law.
On June 17, 2007, Dutch F-16 fighter jets dropped 28 guided bombs in the central Afghan province of Uruzgan. Eighteen of them landed on walled compounds near the strategic town of Chora.Dutch forces were part of the United States-led coalition that intervened in Afghanistan in the wake of 2001’s deadly 9/11 suicide hijackings of passenger planes. Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers were accused of harbouring al-Qaeda, which was blamed for the attacks in the US.
The Dutch Ministry of Defence had asked prosecutors almost two years ago to look into the Uruzgan bombing after a report by a war veteran questioned its legitimacy.The ministry had argued the buildings were being used by Taliban fighters when the military hit the compound. The court on Wednesday found otherwise.
“The Netherlands was responsible for the shelling of the houses,” it said in a statement. “It was known these houses were inhabited by civilians. The State invoked the fact the Taliban used the houses for military purposes … and thus that the bombing was not unlawful.”
“But the court rules that the State hasn’t sufficiently made clear on what basis it came to the conclusion that these houses were being used by the Taliban; … therefore, the bombing is illegal,” it ruled.
The court sided with four survivors of the attack who brought a civil suit against the Dutch state for compensation. They were not named in court documents.The victims included the wife, two daughters, three sons and a daughter-in-law of one of the claimants, court papers said.
Dutch government lawyers argued that the Taliban used the compound for military purposes and, although civilians lived there, the attack was justified.But judges said there had been no firing around the compound for at least 15 hours before the bombing.
“The most recent information was already 15 hours old,” the claimants’ lawyer Liesbeth Zegveld told the AFP news agency.
“The intelligence is not of a nature in which one could say, ‘Well, yes please, go ahead with seven bombs,’” the lawyer said.
Judges also ruled on Wednesday that victims should be compensated but amounts would be determined at a later stage.The Dutch defence ministry said it would study the verdict.
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CEYPETCO) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight on Saturday (May 30).
Accordingly,
the price of Auto Diesel has been increased by Rs. 15 to Rs.407 per liter,
the price of Super Diesel has been increased by Rs. 20 to Rs. 478 per liter.
the price of Petrol 92 Octane has been increased by Rs. 24 to Rs. 434 per liter
the price of Petrol 95 Octane up by Rs. 25 to Rs. 495 per liter
the price of kerosene by Rs. 20 to Rs. 285 per liter.
Former President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga has called for a comprehensive reform programme within Sri Lanka’s Buddhist clergy, warning that repeated efforts to strengthen the Sasana have in the past been derailed by opposition from within sections of the Sangha itself.
In a statement addressed to the Mahanayake Theras of the three Buddhist chapters, Kumaratunga stressed that the long-term preservation of Buddhism depends on safeguarding both the Dhamma and Vinaya, or disciplinary code, and urged urgent internal reform to address what she described as deep-rooted structural weaknesses.
She noted that Buddhist history has consistently demonstrated that periods of institutional crisis were addressed through reform processes, citing precedents from the First Buddhist Council to reforms during the Kandyan era under Welivita Sri Saranankara Thera.
Referring to post-independence efforts, Kumaratunga said initiatives taken during the 1956 Bandaranaike administration to strengthen Buddhism were left incomplete following the assassination of former Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.
She further stated that during her own presidency, plans to convene a Buddhist Council under the guidance of the late Madihe Pannasiha Mahanayake Thera had received government backing but were ultimately abandoned due to resistance from certain sections within the clergy.
The former President alleged that, on both occasions, vested interests benefiting from existing weaknesses within the Buddhist establishment had worked to obstruct meaningful reform efforts.
Warning that Buddhism in Sri Lanka is currently facing serious challenges, she called for a broad internal dialogue within the Sangha to identify root causes and implement both short- and long-term corrective measures.
Kumaratunga urged the Mahanayake Theras to take the lead in convening a Dharma Sanghayana, or Buddhist Council, and said she was prepared to work with senior lay Buddhist leaders to support such an initiative.
The Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered the arrest of former Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Tourism Promotion Bureau Chairman Bhashwara Gunaratne, Managing Director Rumi Jauffer and several others over the alleged misuse of Rs. 7.8 million belonging to the Tourism Promotion Authority during the 2014 Uva Provincial Council election campaign.
Magistrate Pasan Amarasena directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to arrest and produce the suspects before court, after it was informed that they would be named under the Public Property Act on the advice of the Attorney General.
The CID told court that attempts to take the suspects into custody from their residences had been unsuccessful as they were not present.
The Magistrate also imposed an overseas travel ban on the suspects and ordered that the Controller of Immigration and Emigration be notified.
Investigations have reportedly revealed that the funds were used to print 12,000 T-shirts bearing an image of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa on one side and the name of a political party on the other.
According to the CID, the T-shirts were later distributed at a political event held in the Monaragala District.
Oscar-winning Star Wars editor Marcia Lucas dies aged 80
Hundreds arrested in France after wild Champions League celebrations
‘Disappointing’ – Sangakkara on Sam Curran turning out for Surrey with IPL still on
Truck carrying Afghan returnees from Pakistan flips on highway, killing 18
PSG beat Arsenal to win back-to-back Champions League titles after shootout
What Hegseth’s comments at Shangri-La Dialogue say about US foreign policy
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
News2 days agoIMF urges Lanka not to meddle with exchange rate
-
News7 days agoPolice probe underway to ascertain links between criminals deported from UAE and local politicians
-
News6 days agoEaster Sunday carnage: Court told Maulana’s statement cannot be accepted without cross-examination
-
News6 days agoUK passport holder hiding here wants to have deportation order rescinded to leave without blemish
-
Opinion6 days agoUndermining the democratic political framework
-
Features3 days agoThe Division Bell Mystery
-
Midweek Review5 days agoIsraeli-US aggression won’t go unanswered -Iranian Ambassador
-
News7 days agoDickoya double murder suspect arrested