Prince Harry has stirred some controversy recently with the release of his new memoir, “Spare.” In it, he reveals that he had killed 25 people during his two military tours in Afghanistan as a gunner copilot in an Apache attack helicopter. This statement has caused uproar among some in the war-torn country and beyond.
In response to Harry’s claims, around 20 protesters gathered at a university in Helmand province on Sunday holding signs with his image crossed out with a red “X” and calling for him to be tried for war crimes and for compensation for families who have suffered loss at the hands of U.K. airstrikes. Mullah Abdullah was one such protester, who lost four family members in an airstrike in 2011 and demanded justice from the international community.
The revelations about Prince Harry’s actions have also been met with criticism from other parts of the world. Mick Wallace, a Member of European Parliament (MEP) from Ireland tweeted his opinion too: “Given that the US NATO War on Afghanistan was totally illegal and destroyed lives of millions of innocent people,” he said, “how come there’s no call from Mainstream Media + Politicians to have this despicable individual Prince Harry tried for War Crimes…?”
Though no official action is being taken yet against Harry, many are questioning why he isn’t being held accountable or facing any consequences given that millions were affected by the illegal war on Afghanistan which destroyed countless lives and homes over its decade long duration.
The uproar amongst protesters across Afghanistan goes to show how deep the wounds still are even though it officially ended in 2014 when U.S. led forces withdrew from the country after 13 years of occupation and military operations causing massive destruction throughout much of the nation’s infrastructure including homes, hospitals, schools and other vital public facilities, all without any accountability or reparations made thus far to those affected by it all.
The Daily Mail reported that on Monday in New York, Harry appeared to have increased his security team, following the revelation of a controversial statement. According to the news outlet, while in Manhattan for an interview with Stephen Colbert on The Late Show, Harry was accompanied by three undercover NYPD detectives and two personal bodyguards. The particular aspect that seemed to spark the most outrage was Harry’s analogy of eliminating enemy combatants to taking out an opponent’s chess pieces during a game.
In response, Taliban member Anas Haqqani tweeted, “Mr. Harry! The ones you killed were not chess pieces, they were humans; they had families who were waiting for their return.”
