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April 4, 2011

Protests Spread In Afghanistan Following Koran Burning, Seven U.N. Employees Killed 
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In Afghanistan, protests against the burning of a Koran by an American
pastor have entered their fourth day. On Friday seven employees of the
United Nations were killed in the northern Afghan city of Mazar-i-Sharif
after local residents stormed the U.N. compound following a protest
against Koran burnings. The attack shocked many Afghan observers because
Mazar-i-Sharif has long been considered one of Afghanistan's safest
cities.

Staffan di Mistura, U.N. envoy to Afghanistan: "Freedom of speech does
not mean freedom of offending culture, religion, traditions, especially
when there are so many of us, both civilians and frankly military, in
many parts of the world and particularly in Afghanistan. So, I think the
main blame we have is about the irresponsible gesture that was made on
that case. The proof is that those who entered our building were
actually furiously angry about the issue about the Koran. There was
nothing political there."



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