Burning of Koran spark riots at airbase

Top U. S. officer issues apology to Afghan people

KABUL, Afghanistan — Riots erupted outside and inside the U. S. airbase at Bagram on Tuesday after two U. S. soldiers apparently partly burned several copies of the Koran, the Muslim holy book.

The latest huge cultural misstep by U. S. forces prompted an immediate and abject apology from marine Gen. John Allen, who is the top NATO and American officer in Afghanistan.

In a note that began “to the noble people of Afghanistan,” Allen said he had ordered an investigation into the incident on Monday evening, which he said resulted when soldiers “improperly disposed of a large number of Islamic religious materials which included Korans.”

The religious books were used by mostly Afghan and Pakistani prisoners held in detention on the Bagram Airfield.

By Tuesday morning a crowd of about 3,000 Afghans had gathered outside the base to protest the burnings. The entrance to the sprawling former Soviet base, which is a key logistics and fighter jet hub, was closed for the day.

“We are thoroughly investigating the incident and we are taking steps to ensure that this does not ever happen again,” Allen said in his statement. “I assure you ... I promise you ... this was NOT intentional in any way.”

The general also offered “sincere apologies for any offence this may have caused to the president of Afghanistan.” He then repeated the phrase, “noble people of Afghanistan.”

Canada has 911 military advisers in Afghanistan. Most are stationed at about a dozen bases in and around Kabul.

Canadian troops are given cultural awareness classes that deal with religious and social issues before deploying to Afghanistan.

Allen later issued what the military calls “guidance,” directing all NATO and other coalition forces to receive proper training the handling of religious materials by March 3.

“Along with our apology to the Afghans is our certainty and assurance to them that these kinds of incidents, when they do occur, will be corrected in the fastest and most appropriate manner possible,” said Allen, who replaced U. S. army Gen. David Petraeus as supreme NATO commander in Afghanistan last summer. “We’ve been shoulder to shoulder with the Afghans for a long time. We’ve been dying alongside the Afghans for a long time because we believe in them; we believe in their country and we want to have every opportunity to give them a bright future.”

It is highly likely that the Koran burnings will lead to at least several days of further protests, adding to an already jittery security that has not been helped by American plans to wind down combat operations next year rather than in 2014.