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July 4, 2003 - Terrorist attack on Hazara Mosque - Quetta, Pakistan
July 5, 2003
President & Chief Executive of Pakistan
General Pervez Musharraf
Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
Pakistan
Dear President:
As members of Amnesty International, we are writing to express our extreme sadness, concern and anger for the continued persecution, oppression and killings of our
innocent Hazara people in Pakistan. Time and time again our Hazara people are being singled out, hunted and exterminated simply because we are Hazara and Shia. The same groups, organizations and fundamentalists that have
persecuted us historically in Afghanistan are continuing their persecution in your country. We are not safe in our homes, our communities or in our mosques, as the tragic events of the last few weeks have shown once again. The
streets of Quetta run red from the spilled blood of our brothers who have died for no other reason than they were Hazara and Shia. Therefore:
§ We most urgently appeal to you to use any and all means at your disposal to ensure that our rights and lives are protected everywhere.
§ We strongly urge you to deliver on your promise that "We will employ all our energies to track the perpetrators down, break their network and bring them to
justice."
§ We most urgently call on the Government of Pakistan to hunt down and eliminate extremists in any form, to eliminate the climate for religious and political
extremism that is growing in Pakistan and to prosecute and punish those people and groups of people who continue to contribute to the destabilization of society by continued attacks on religious and ethnic groups.
§ We insist by the strongest means possible that those responsible for these crimes against humanity be brought to justice for their actions as soon as possible.
We look forward to hearing what actions you will take to resolve this situation. The world is watching your country to see what you will do.
Respectfully,
David E. Tosi and Zareen Taj
Human Rights Activists
Copies: Ambassador of Pakistan
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Condolences
July 10, 2003
To all my Hazara brothers and sisters
Dear brothers and sisters:
It is with tears of sadness and anger that I send to you my deepest sympathy and offer to you my strongest condolences for the senseless and brutal murders of my fellow Hazaras at our Mosque there in Quetta. Once
again the blood of people runs in the streets and drains the life and energy from our communities. Again we are hunted, persecuted and murdered even in our places of worship for who we are and what we represent. Our enemies
will not rest until they have killed every one of us, men, women and children.
We must remain strong, courageous and stand firm with our pride, with our convictions and with our determination to never let our enemies shake our resolve. We must also not give in to actions of retributions and
revenge as our anger and bitterness fill our minds and hearts. We must organize and mobilize all of our resources and energies and intellect to meet and fight our enemies in the most effective manner possible. Although this is
a tragic loss for our community, we must not become discouraged as our enemies attempt to continue the historical pattern of persecution and prejudice. We must remain strong, proud and brave in the face of our enemies' attacks.
We must not allow these recent tragic and senseless slaughters of our people to turn us into the same kind of animals that those who hunt and persecute us have become. We must at all times remember who we are and
what we represent and maintain the highest ethical and moral codes of conduct as we seek to address these recent events and to seek justice for our cause.
Sincerely,
Zareen Taj (Hazara)
Women's and Human Rights Activist
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With Sympathy
July 10, 2003
To the Hazara Nation:
Dear brothers and sisters:
I offer to you my deepest sympathy and shed tears of extreme sadness as I learned again of the atrocities undertaken against you last Friday in Quetta. For the last three years through my work with human rights,
refugees and asylum seekers, I have come to learn about, respect highly and to love the Hazara nation. Through my readings and social contacts I have learned about the years of oppression, persecution and slaughter of the
Hazara people. I have come to identify with your struggles and feel the pain, sadness and the often times hopeless conditions that you continuously face.
In my heart you are my brothers and sisters. I feel the soul of Hazaras in my own soul and I have made a promise to myself and to God above, to help you in any way that I can for as long as is necessary until you
are free of the persecution and oppression and hatred that is visited upon you continuously. It is my sincere hope that one day the other ethnicities and people of the world will treat you as equals, with fairness and with
respect. I will not rest until you have taken your rightful place once again in Afghanistan and the world.
It is my wish to come to Afghanistan one day, to live with, stand beside and to live out my days, with my Hazara brothers and sisters in a society that respects, honors and recognizes you as the wonderful and
beautiful and deserving people that you are. Your proudness inspires me. Your determination gives me strength. Your strong heritage will bring you success. Do not let your enemies weaken your determination or resolve. Remain
brave and fearless and use your strengths and intellect to beat them.
Sincerely,
David E. Tosi
Human Rights Activist and Amnesty International member
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