Financial Times
Hamid Karzai, Afghan President, on Monday denied the riots in Afghanistan that led to 16 deaths had been prompted by a magazine article, calling them instead “a political act against Afghanistan's stability”.
“These demonstrations were in reality not related to the Newsweek story,” he said at a joint press conference held after a meeting with President George W. Bush. “They were more against progress in Afghanistan and our strategic partnership with America. We know the people who were behind the demonstrations.”
His comments contrast with those of White House officials who have forcefully condemned the Newsweek report that claimed a Koran had been flushed down a toilet by interrogators in Guantanamo Bay, and have suggested it helped trigger the riots.
Last week Scott McClellan, White House spokesman, said: “This report was used to excite violence and did serious damage. The protests may have been pre-planned but this report was used to excite violence.”
Mr Karzai's remarks echo the views of General Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of staff, who said the violence was “not at all tied to the article in the magazine”.
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