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Law and Order in Ghowr Province, Afghanistan
Lithuanian forces in Chaghcharan, Ghowr Province, are mentoring Afghan National Police in all aspects of the law and order process. Shotlist: --VOICEOVER-- Police in Ghowr, central Afghanistan, provide most of the province's security. Training here with American mentors, they're a crucial link in the chain of law and order in this region. --REPORTER PIECE TO CAMERA-- Training with live ammo not only requires a high degree of communication between trainers and trainees, but also a great degree of trust. MASTER SERGEANT WILLIAM BURNETT, Police Mentoring Team --SOUNDBITS (ENGLISH)-- "Oh yes, there's definitely a lot of trust involved. We look at them just like one of our soldiers. We conduct the same type of training. We teach them the same stuff that we do." --VOICEOVER-- The Afghan police have often been linked to corrupt practices, so they don't have the best of reputations among the public. Yet in Chagcharan, the capital of Ghowr, people are feeling positive about their security forces. CHAGHCHARAN RESIDENT --SOUNDBITE-- (DARI, DUBBED IN ENGLISH) "Chaghcharan is 100% peaceful. God willing, there aren't any security problems that disturb people." OLDER CHAGHCHARAN RESIDENT --SOUNDBITE-- (DARI) "Our national police always see to security. They save the people's lives." YOUNG MAN --SOUNDBITE-- (DARI) "The Afghan National Army are good now. Police are good and the army do a good job in all the provinces" --VOICEOVER-- But when a crime is committed, there's still work to do on the investigation and prosecution process. Here, the police sit alongside visiting Afghan army and national directorate of security members. They're being taught by Lithuanian soldiers how to work together to respond to a suicide attack in a Provincial Operations Coordination Centre, or OCCP. Part of the Crime Investigation Department, they're the men who will kick off the justice process by sealing off the crime scene and collecting evidence. MAJ. KOSTAS PETROVAS, Chaghcharan Provincial Reconstruction Team --SOUNDBITE-- (LITHUANIAN, DUBBED IN ENGLISH) "Why is the work of OCCP important? Firstly, the accident control is important as it is a matter of human life. The OCCP or the Operations Coordination Centre has to ensure that the information from the region is communicated to the headquarters and the information is correct, not distorted, as otherwise the people who react or carry out the control of the accident, let's say in the market of Chagcharan, may be in danger. Their life could be in danger." CAPTAIN GHULAM SAKHI, Afghan National Army --SOUNDBITE-- (DARI, DUBBED IN ENGLISH) "The only thing for now that could be better for us is centralizing our forces in order to oppose the enemy attack. And in this way, we can avoid the tragic attacks of enemy through collaboration of our forces, so that we can get positive results out of it." --VOICEOVER-- But the next step is possibly the most challenging. The prosecution services in Afghanistan are still very much in their infancy and distrusted by many who rely on local elders to mediate in disputes. SIMONAS MINKEVICIUS, EUPOL Justice Advisor --SOUNDBITE-- (LITHUANIAN, DUBBED IN ENGLISH) "This is legal, but we are of the opinion that the people involved in the cases are not lawyers and have no legal background and that they base their decisions on the traditions. The role of the Prosecutor's Office is to bring their decisions closer to the legal system that exists in Afghanistan at the moment. " --VOICEOVER-- The Afghan constitution states that civil disputes can be solved by elders, but a large stumbling block to getting people to report larger crimes to the authorities is often the lack of trust in local government. ABDUL AZIZ SAMADI, Chief Prosecutor, Ghowr Province --SOUNDBITE (DARI, DUBBED IN ENGLISH)-- We don't force people. If someone is a victim of a crime or is looted or raped, they ready themselves and write an application to the governor's office. Then the governor's office transfers it to the investigation department. And the investigation department, after arresting him or her, transfers it to us. Then we follow the case. --VOICEOVER-- Progress in Ghowr is slow due to its inaccessibility and poverty. It will take time for people here to trust that governmental authorities can protect them, as well as, their tribes and villages. But if security continues to be good, it makes it much more likely that trust will be won. This is Ruth Owen in Ghowr Province for the NATO Channel. Due to problems with spam only SalfordOnline members can now leave comments. Becoming a member of SalfordOnline only takes a minute, just hit the red Join Us button at the top right hand side of the page to create your Personal account. Got a news story? Need help with publicity for an event in Salford? Send it to newsdesk@salfordonline.com or call the SalfordOnline newsdesk on 0161 789 5377. |
