Chakhcharan protest enters third day

CHAKHCHARAN (Pajhwok): Residents of this capital city of western Ghor protest continued their protest for a third consecutive day on Friday against the distribution of a piece of land to powerful individuals.

Police beat protestors on the first day of their protest and broke cameras and snatched mobile phones from journalists covering the scene in Chakhcharan.

The protestors on Friday chanted slogans against the mayor and the public order police commander and demanded their removal.

They accused the mayor of distributing the land to powerful individuals after reaching an under-hand deal with them despite the fact the land belongs to a state-owned TV station.

A protestor, Mohammad Hanif, said the authorities had ignored their demands despite their ill-treatment at the hands of police. He said police officials who beat reporters and protestors should be arrested and prosecuted.

However, Ghor police chief Brig. Gen. Dilawar Shah Dilawar, who apologised for the mistreatment of protestors and journalists, said those responsible would be brought to justice.

Mayor Mohammad Ishaq Hamraz said the protest involved some self-centered individuals, trying to get their share in the land, which he claimed belonged to the municipality.

He said the land was not going to be distributed to powerful individuals, but it had been decided to establish a market on it. Some individuals had been trying to illegally obtain shops in the proposed market and thus applying pressure tactics, he claimed.

The mayor said the distribution of shops was beyond his authority, which rested with a commission composed of various organs.

He said the TV station, earlier housed in a building belonging to the police headquarters, had been temporarily shifted to the current building that belonged to the municipality.

He said the station would be shifted to a new building once constructed as per directives of the provincial governor.

However, he said they lacked resources to establish a new building for the TV channel and the governor had directed the municipality to provide the building to the station against rent in order the station could continue airing its programmes.

But the Afghanistan Radio and Television (RTA) Ghor station deputy head, Allauddin, said the Cabinet had transferred the building to the RTA authority and the municipality planned to hand it over to some powerful individuals.

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