On Saturday, March 20, Shkula Zadran, (former) senior advocacy officer at the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA) in Kabul, posted the following Tweet in Dari: “Alipour and his men should be killed immediately. They are terrorists, rebels, and insurgents, who are funded by foreign intelligence.”
This was in response to a government helicopter allegedly shot down in Behsud of Wardak Province on March 18. Following this Tweet, the Swedish Committee for Afghanistan (SCA), released an official statement on its website.
In its statement, SCA stated that Shkula Zadran was suspended from her duties awaiting the outcome of an internal investigation, and that “her call for Alipour and his men “to be killed immediately” contradicts SCA’s core value of impartiality and principles of human rights.”
Ms. Zadran’s Tweet dangerously incited violence against Hazaras in a fragile political environment characterized by ethnic polarization and endemic violence.
SCA added that “it never takes sides in the conflict and it doesn’t support specific factions or parties representing various interests in society.|”
“Our employees – they said – should not precede rule of law. Extrajudicial killings can never be condoned. SCA has consistently called for war crimes to be investigated impartially and for those responsible to be held to account according to rule of law. Impartiality is crucial for our ability to act in areas of conflict and provide education and healthcare to those most in need in rural parts of Afghanistan.”
Despite her suspension, Ms. Shkula Zadran kept publishing Tweets that could be classified as hate speech against Hazaras and even against the journalists who reported the news about her suspension.
Nota: The Swedish Committee for Afghanistan is a development organization that has been working in Afghanistan for almost 40 years. They have more than 6,000 employees working in different parts of the country. Their vision is an Afghanistan free from poverty, violence, and discrimination.
