UK Library Says No To Taliban Trove Fearing Terror Law

Academics slammed the British government for creating a "climate of fear". The UK national library refused to database the "world's biggest collection of Taliban-related documents", as it feared that it might get nailed under prosecution laws, according to ndtv .

The painstaking collection of Taliban-related information includes "official newspapers from their time in power, poems, maps, radio broadcasts, and several volumes of laws and edicts". A team of global experts has digitised the two-three million words, translating them all into English.

The project was launched in 2012 and there were members of the British Library on its advisory board. The project was intended to be an important source of information for academics and officials.

However, the decision to host the master-copy of the digital collection was shelved at the last minute, as the library felt it might counter the anti-terrorism laws.

"It's surprising and disappointing," said Alex Strick van Linschoten, a Berlin-based author and researcher. "There's no recipes for making bombs or anything like that. These are documents that would help people understand history, whether it's Afghans trying to learn about their recent past, or outsiders wanting to understand the movement.

"Any scholar would realise it's essential to read primary documents related to your subject if you want to understand militant groups, but there is a climate of fear among academics who study this kind of material because UK law is very loose," he said.

The British library spokeswoman confirmed the library was "not currently able to acquire a copy of the archive".

"It is a large digitised archive which contains material that could contravene the Terrorism Act," she said.

"The legal advice received jointly by the British Library and other similar institutions advises against making this type of material accessible."

There were no comments from The Home Office.

James Fitzgerald, a professor at Dublin City University and editor of the Critical Studies on Terrorism journal, said the library's decision to turn down the Taliban archive was "completely, completely ridiculous".

The government is also at fault for creating such an atmosphere, he said. "How much fear must there be to bring about a decision that is clearly ridiculous."

"This is a symptom of a creeping orthodoxy of UK legislation that is trying to enforce so-called British values," he added.