kerkko.fi

The Finnish government continues to receive unsatisfactory answers from Afghanistan as to why President Karzai ordered the release of five Afghan men convicted in June 2007 for detonating a roadside bomb that killed a Finnish peacekeeper. Unofficial reports from Afghanistan-based Finnish officers all seem to point to corruption that may include top Karzai government officials.

Finnish military and civilian officers in Afghanistan have pieced together a picture of what they believe really happened. The information they have gathered points to probable prisoner mistreatment before the sentencing and corruption in connection with the pardon, perhaps even on the highest level. Most disturbing of all, money changed hands in connection with the pardon.

The search for a plausible answer in this case stems from a desire to ensure that the event does not prompt negative public opinion toward the ISAF mission. Finland has been engaged in a public debate over whether to increase its commitments in Afghanistan. Clearly, the Defence and Foreign Ministry officials do not want the freeing of a peacekeeper's killers to become part of the debate.