Death in the Container. (2002-12-16)

 

 

The Irish journalist Jamie Doran wants to prove that U.S. soldiers have watched a massacre at captured Taliban in Afghanistan.

 

It was one of these evenings at Crosses corner, a pub in Windsor not far from the royal castle. The Irish documentary filmier Jamie Doran, 46, which always speaks much and his cameraman Mark Oulson-Jenkins, 31, which is always much silent sat as usually around this time at a pint of Foster together. They wanted to go the next day again on their next trip to the warriors to North Afghanistan, and both had this strange feeling in the belly: "Fucking hell", Doran said, "Mark, this time it’s coming hard." But he didn’t expected that it would come that hard. The independent Filmmaker and his team were after a rather hot story for long time.

They wanted to prove that the troops of the mightiest and bloodthirsty north-alliance General Raschid Dostam  committed under eyes of the American allies after the fall of Kunduz at the end of November of the last year a monstrous war crime. For the up to 3000 of the 8000 Taliban and al-Qaida-fighters, who capitulated Kunduz, the prisoners-transport into the around 300 kilometres west laid jail of Shibarghan obviously ended lethal. They have been pressed like sardines in un-aired containers and died of oxygen deficiency, overheating and thirst painfully Doran claims, many survivors have been shot. The dead bodies are about 150 kilometres west of Masar-I Scharif in the desert Dasht-i-Laili Witnesses in the film claim that Americans were during the cruel suffocation and also during the shootings of prisoners of war directly standing beside.  When Doran and Oulson-Jenkins finally for the last time travelled to Masar-I Scharif in Dostams dominion., to secure final pieces of evidence for their project - Testimonies and unpublished film - the atmosphere was noticeably already tensed. The local Warlords knew already why the two had come: Doran had already shown an abbreviated raw cut of his film with explosive testimonies to  Europe parliamentarians in Strasbourg and alerted  human right organisations and the international press, among this the "Der Spiegel" (32/2002), with that. At the end of August the U.S. news magazine "Newsweek" headlined:" The death convoy of Afghanistan. Are the USA jointly responsible for the atrocities of their Allies?" Doran and Oulson-Jenkins soon afterwards ran for their lives: " Two British journalists who want to make an illegal film about the government are looked for.", Dostams "helpers" let spread over "radio Balkh", the local transmitter. The two just  saved themselves into a UNO airplane to Kabul. An Afghan employee of Doran who tried to copy explosive film was almost beaten to death for this. Doran wants to prove with the new setting of the film, that the against the Afghans belligerent American didn't only knew about this mass murder but were also involved in it: "My film shows the chain of the responsibility." In the meantime the film makers have sold their work in many countries, ARD extra changes its pre-Christmas program and shows the German version  this Wednesday evening under the title. " The massacre in Afghanistan -- have the Americans watched one's activities?" at 21.55 o’clock. Many film sequences suggest that U.S. armed forces always very exactly pursued everything – the Transports of the prisoners, the inquisitions and finally the selection of those who had to be brought to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, also during the days in which the massacre happened. "Did the Americans attend?", Doran asks in the film an Afghani driver, who was forced by Dostam-soldiers to drive one of those container with the cargo of dead and dying ones into the desert. "Yes, they were there", the driver answered. "Here in Dasht-i-Laili?", Doran asks. "Yes, here", the driver says. " How many Americans were there?" "Manny, maybe 30 to 40", the driver says. Another: "Everything was under control of the American Commander. In each Container were 200 to 300 Corpses. They were brought here and buried.“ Last proofs - Pictures which show Americans with the killed – are missing. As the first western reporter Doran had detected the remains of the killed, faded bones and clothes, in the desert sand in December 2001. "If I had been where all the other international journalists were, I would have missed the most important story of this war.", the more time honoured  documentary film maker says. 170000 pounds, over 260000 Euro, the film had cost – Doran lent it from the bank and lent it from friends, his Company was nearly broke in the meantime.

 

Shortly ago he and his camera man Oulson-Jenkins were sitting again in Windsor in the Pub Crosses Corner. Both agreed upon that, the case which they had begun together  will have brought to an end together to: "An the end is", Doran says, "when the responsible are standing in court."

 

(aus: Spiegel Online vom15.12.2002)