the other press

 

Ridley
refuses
to be
intimidated
by Taliban
or the
White

House

Features
http://otherpress.douglas.bc.ca

Sobia Virk
The Link

MONTREAL (CUP)—“There are a lot of
gutless, spineless journalists who are willing
to be spoon-fed by the White House.”

These are the words of Yvonne Ridley,
the tenacious British reporter who is a liv-
ing antithesis of the journalists she
describes. Crossing into eastern
Afghanistan in a burka without a visa or
identification, Ridley was arrested on
September 28, 2001 by the Taliban, and
imprisoned.

She managed to keep a secret diary writ-
ing on the inside of a toothpaste box and
soap wrapper. Ridley went on a hunger
strike, as “it was the only way I could exer-
cise my rights,” and vehemently resisted
defeat.

“T was horrible to [the Taliban]; I was
obnoxious, I spat at them, I swore at
them,” she said. The 43-year-old reporter
remained captive for ten days. She com-
pared her treatment by the Taliban to that
of the 600 men held by the US in violation
of the Geneva Convention in Guant4namo
Bay, and feels that she was the lucky one.

“It was absolutely terrifying, largely
through my own imagination, because |
just thought ‘I’ve been caught by the most
evil, brutal regime in the world and they
hate women, and I am not going to see the
sunset.’ As it turned out, they treated me
with courtesy and respect, which is not
what Britain and America wanted to hear,”
said Ridley, who is the chief reporter for
the The Daily Express, a British newspaper.
She agreed to educate herself on Islam if
released and kept her promise. Ridley’s
stance on Islam has since evolved, however,
she noted her opinions did not directly
change through the Taliban, but through
reading the Qur'an.

“The Qur’an makes it clear that women
are equal [to men] in spirituality, worth
and education,” she said. “The women’s
movement could have very well begun in
the pages of the Qur'an 1400 years ago,
instead of the ’60s when we were burning
our bras.”

Futility of War
With 25 years of journalistic experience
and having covered several conflicts around

the world, Ridley is knowledgeable, well-

travelled, optimistic and wears a black and
white checked Palestinian kuffiyeh draped
on her shoulder. She addressed both the
audience of 500 at Université de Montréal
and the media during her tour in Montréal
as if war will be averted.

“February 15 is the start, it’s certainly not
the finish,” she said of the massive global
resistance to war on Iraq.

A double standard exists, Ridley told
reporters a day prior to her public lecture at
U de M. She pulled out a list of the 16 UN
resolutions violated by Iraq and compared
it to the three page list of 72 resolutions
violated by Israel. She added that, in spite
of Israel possessing weapons of mass
destruction, nuclear capabilities, and sport-
ing a human rights record far more shock-
ing than that of Iraq, Israel is not targeted
by UN sanctions or America’s war.

Ridley was in a Kabul prison when more
than 50 cruise missiles bombarded the cap-
ital. Recalling how terrifying the experi-
ence was, she maintained an anti-war
stance. “You can't negotiate with cruise
missiles, they can’t distinguish between
civilian and military targets,” she said.
Kabul, she says, made her realize “the
whole futility of war.”

The journalist dismissed the notion that
Iraqis themselves welcome a US-led inva-
sion.

“How can you liberate an Iraqi that has
been blown apart?” she asked. The only
Iraqis who want war are the “ones with
pockets stuffed with CIA dollars.” This war
is not meant to be a clean war, “Strategic
military targets are being moved into civil-
ian areas,” asserts Ridley. “Iraqi civilians are
going to pay the blood price.”

Proposing Solutions

There are two threats to the world today,
said Ridley: Bush and Blair. A humane
solution to the situation in Iraq, says
Ridley, would be to cease UN sanctions,
which have strengthened Saddam Hussein
and weakened the Iraqi people. In addi-
tion, weapons inspections should continue
and the devastated infrastructure must be
rebuilt. Ridley firmly opposed outside
attempts to enforce regime changes that are
not in the best interest of the people.

March 19, 2003

Yvonne Ridley

Palestine and the war on Iraq are “inextri-
cably linked,” said Ridley. “If it weren't for
the heroic resistance of the Palestinians,
Iraq would’ve been invaded a long time
ago.” This war, said Ridley, is about oil
resources. It is also “about changing the
political landscape of the Middle East,”
which bears far-reaching implications for
Palestinians. Ridley managed to enter Jenin
two days after a massacre, and witnessed
the aftermath.

“Palestinian people are terrified that they
are going to be ethnically cleansed from the
West Bank and Gaza.” It’s not rocket sci-
ence, the occupation fuels terrorist acts and
genuine peace in the region would “starve
terrorists,” said Ridley. “Most desperate
acts have their roots in some justifiable
grievance,” she added.

Under Fire For Her Views

Ridley has published her extraordinary
story in a new book, Jn the Hands of the
Taliban. She faced overwhelming criticism
upon her return to Britain. Accused of suf-
fering from Stockholm syndrome, being
reckless and, as a single mother, inconsid-
erate of her daughter. Much of the insult-
hurling came from female colleagues.
Ridley herself does not regret her actions.

“Our human rights are being slowly
eroded, liberty is being slowly carpet-
bombed, because of this war on terrorism,”
she said, noting that a new superpower is
emerging, that of the global anti-war
movement.

She found, to her horror, that she had
been spied upon by the CIA, who assem-
bled a dossier containing stolen documents
and fabricated connections, trying to
implicate her as a MIG agent of Britain,
married to a Mossad agent. The CIA trans-
ferred the dossier to the Taliban when she
was in captivity. Ridley believes the intelli-
gence agency was anticipating that she
would be convicted for espionage and exe-
cuted, bolstering support for the US-led
war, and clamping the growing anti-war
movement. The experience shook, but has
not deterred, the determined journalist.
“Tm damned if I’m going to be intimidat-
ed by anyone,” said Ridley.

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