Afghan minority Hazaras plan protest over power project

By AFP
Published: May 16, 2016



PHOTO: REUTERS

KABUL: Thousands of minority Shiite Hazaras are expected to protest in Kabul on Monday over a multi-million-dollar power transmission line, in what could potentially snowball into a political crisis for the beleaguered government.

The planned protest follows a massive rally last November galvanised by the beheadings of a group of Hazaras, which became a symbol of the broader public discontent with President Ashraf Ghani’s regime.

The TUTAP power line, which would connect the energy-rich Central Asian nations of Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan with Afghanistan and Pakistan, is regarded a crucial project in the electricity-starved region.

But it has been mired in controversy, with leaders from the minority group demanding that the line be routed through central Bamiyan province, which has a large Hazara population.

The line was originally set to pass through Bamiyan but the government decided to reroute it...Continue Reading...

Reuters: Kabul locked down as Afghan authorities face power line protest

KABUL | BY MIRWAIS HAROONI


Demonstrators from Afghanistan's Hazara minority attend a protest in Kabul May 16, 2016.
REUTERS/MOHAMMAD ISMAIL

Thousands of demonstrators from Afghanistan's Hazara minority marched through Kabul on Monday to protest against the planned route of a multi-million dollar power transmission line, posing a major challenge to the government of President Ashraf Ghani.

Some protesters threw stones and tried to climb over shipping containers stacked up to block the streets into Kabul's government and diplomatic areas but no significant violence was reported by mid-morning.

The demonstrators are demanding that the planned route for the 500 kV transmission line linking Turkmenistan with Kabul be changed to pass through two provinces with large Hazara populations, an option the government says would cost millions and delay the badly needed project by years.... Continue Reading...