Officials in
Afghanistan's southern Helmand province have
confirmed that gunmen destroyed a mobile-phone
tower in the Sangin district on March 2.
It follows two attacks on
telecommunication towers in neighboring Kandahar
province on February 29 and March 1 after a
Taliban demand that all telephone signals be
turned off during the evening and overnight.
Taliban militants ordered mobile-phone
operators last week to switch off their networks
from 5 pm to 7 am each day. The insurgents say US
and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
forces track the Taliban through their phone
signals and then launch attacks on their hiding
places.
Many military operations against
Taliban leaders have been
conducted
by the US-led forces at night.
But many
Afghans, including politicians, dismiss the
Taliban's justification for attacking the mobile
phone sector as "meaningless".
Legislator
Shurkiya Barekzai says that by attacking the
towers the Taliban want to damage Afghanistan's
economy. She says the Taliban claim that coalition
and Afghan forces tracking their forces via mobile
signals "does not make any sense".
"I
don't think [tracking the militants via signals]
is the main reason, because if Afghan and
international forces want to attack they could
attack during the day, too," Barekzai says. "But
we should remember that these mobile networks are
crucially important for ordinary Afghans. People
need and use them."
The mobile towers that
came under attack belonged to the Roshan and
Areeba companies.
The people need
them As almost the only means of
communication in Afghanistan, cell phones have
become increasingly popular all over the country.
They were widely introduced in Afghanistan after
the Western-backed government took power following
the defeat of the Taliban in 2001.
The
telecommunications industry is considered one of
the fastest-growing and most profitable sectors of
the Afghan economy. Four main telecom operators
provide coverage to even the most remote corners
of Afghanistan.
Destruction of the
telecommunication towers will affect thousands of
phone users in southern Afghanistan, including the
Taliban fighters themselves, who rely on mobile
phones for communications.
But
communications experts say the demolition of the
towers will not have a significant impact on the
US-led military forces, since they can use
satellites and other means to pick up phone
signals without depending on the phone companies.
Mobile users in Kandahar's many districts
have complained they had not had phone signals
over the past two days.
Barekzai tells
RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan that depriving
people of their principal means of communication
will only further alienate the militants from the
general Afghan population.
Many regions in
Afghanistan do not even have access to a regular
mail service, landline phones or the Internet, and
therefore almost entirely depend on cell phones to
communicate.
Police sources in Kandahar
province said security was tightened near the
mobile towers after the Taliban attacks. Some
influential local tribal leaders have also offered
to help protect such areas.
Abdul
Ahad-Khan Masum, a tribal leader in Kandahar's
Kajaki district, where a mobile tower was torched
by militants, says his people can protect the
towers "if we are given the authority".
But he adds, "During the past 30 years,
different powers have only been playing with the
tribal leaders - instead of benefiting from our
influence. If the government and relevant
authorities give us a chance, I think this issue
[of protecting the mobile towers] would be solved,
too."
It is not the first time the Taliban
have challenged cell-phone companies in
Afghanistan. They have accused mobile-phone
operators of closely cooperating with US and NATO
troops. However, they did not carry out any of
their threats until now.
RFE/RL's Radio
Free Afghanistan correspondent Norias Nori
contributed to this report
Copyright (c) 2007, RFE/RL Inc.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201
Connecticut Ave NW, Washington DC
20036
Head
Office: Unit B, 16/F, Li Dong Building, No. 9 Li Yuen Street East,
Central, Hong Kong Thailand Bureau:
11/13 Petchkasem Road, Hua Hin, Prachuab Kirikhan, Thailand 77110
