Pop concert protest mars Afghan Independence Day celebrations

Hundreds of security force personnel were deployed in Kabul on Saturday to disperse a group of religious men protesting against an Independence Day concert by a controversial pop singer.
The original venue for the concert was changed because security forces could not provide protection for Ariana Saeed, who mostly lives in the UK and was criticized in May for wearing a skin-color dress in a concert in Paris that made her appear almost naked. She later burned the dress.
Saturday’s concert was held amid heavy security at the Continental Hotel, which is perched on a hill, with several layers of security checkpoints, and is surrounded by high walls and barbed wire.
Dozens of clerics tried to force their way into the hotel to block the event, but were stopped by hundreds of armed police and security forces. The protesters chanted anti-US and anti-government slogans.
“The government had promised to cancel the concert, but in order to appease its foreign masters, it has broken its promise,” said Abdul Qadir, the main organizer of the protest.
Some of the protesters called Saeed an “international whore.” One told the police that militants such as the Taliban and Daesh would use her videos to stir anti-government sentiment and draw fighters into their ranks, including suicide bombers.
“This government is corrupt, un-Islamic, we love you the security forces, but want you to fulfil your responsibility by not allowing the concert. The Taliban and Daesh will target you because you are guarding an un-Islamic government,” said Ahmad Quraishi.
One of the security officials at the scene privately said Quraishi was right. The protesters blocked the road leading to the hotel for hours. Additional armed police had to be called to disperse them.
Many of the singer’s fans, including women, had already made it inside the hotel but dozen of others, mostly teenagers, were stuck outside because the protesters stopped them from going in. Habibullah, a university student, said he was there to oppose the “radicals and because of his respect for the highly cultured” Saeed.
Shah Moahmmad, a laborer said he “loves her dancing, singing and body. I have come for passing my time. But here you see I can’t go.”
Ahmad Shaker, a school student, called her a “symbol of freedom for Afghan women.”
The price of the concert ticket was 200 Afghani (about $3), but because of the demand the price went up to 800 Afghani.
The protesters refused to leave the scene and gathered outside a mosque next to the hotel for their evening prayers. The security forces later rushed to disperse them from the road.
Elsewhere in the country, the Independence Day celebrations were marked with an unprecedented show of jubilation, despite rising violence and uncertain future with the US occupation completing 17 years. The Afghans gained their independence from Britain in 1919.
Thousands, including a group of girls, drove through cities in vehicles painted with the three-colored flag of Afghanistan. In eastern Laghman, scores of people marched the streets holding a one kilometer long national flag.
Billboards and images of former King Amanullah, a liberal, who gained independence after three rounds of war were mounted in city centers.
People played national music through the loudspeakers of their vehicles, while a group of men, dressed up in local costumes, danced on the streets.
President Ashraf Ghani urged Afghans to review their history and reflect where mistakes were made, ever since Amanullah was ousted by religious figures over his reforms and pro-West vision.

Source: Arab News