Editorial:
Very Encouraging Developments:
The Former King, H. M. Mohd. Zahir Shah's
Positive Steps To End The Afghan Quagmire
With great pleasure, we report that His Majesty the former King Mohd. Zahir Shah of Afghanistan, who ruled the country for more than four decades before his monarchy was toppled by his cousin, Mohammad Daud, has initiated a serious and active process to bring an end to the tragedy of this country. The former King's peace plan which had remained in the form of a proposal assumed greater importance when he recently initiated active moves to seek a political solution to war-torn country's problems. The King decided to send his leading advisors to opposing parties embroiled in war in Afghanistan for holding talks and for beginning a peace process that should entail the Afghan traditional Loya Jirga.
It is important to realize that since the communist subversion twenty years ago, Afghanistan has not seen a democratic governmental system such as the one tried in the later years of the former King's rule in the Sixties. The Republic of Afghanistan under the King's cousin, Sardar M. Daud, soon faced a bloody Communist coup. Since then Communist and Islamist governments tried desperately to gain legitimacy, but except for very short periods of relative calm, a government acceptable to all segments of Afghan population remained illusive.
One main reason for this has been the outside meddling. During the years of the Jihad, for example, we witnessed a mobilization of Afghan faith and commitment to freedom from Soviet aggressors leading to miraculous results (Soviet pull back and break down of Soviet Empire), but unfortunately we noticed that the political gains of the Jihad were misappropriated by outside forces. This was a great disservice and an insult to the Afghan nation who suffered misery and humiliation at the hands of puppets of opportunistic neighbors. Independent minded Afghans who would not accept the foreign imposed gradual disintegration of the country caused by imported fanaticism, fratricide, and backward slide, were either eliminated or shunned from the country by mercenaries who foolishly compromised the nation's honor and freedom. This is what the former King saw and could do nothing about because he was one such hostage of this conspiracy.
In the opinion of most knowledgeable Afghans, the one overriding concern has always been this: As long as a basic change in the policies of Pakistan, Iran, and Saudi Arabia towardAfghanistan is not observed, and as long as the United States of America does not see it fit to seriously address the Pakistani and other foreign interference in Afghanistan, no significant progress toward peace and tranquility in Afghanistan can be expected.
Fortunately, we can now be certain that America has finally made a serious policy statement with reference to Afghanistan. The statement indicates a very fundamental reversal of the initial U.S. leaning toward the Taliban militia. Pakistan, it must be noted, is still diplomatically promoting the Taliban. Two specific U. S. moves in the right direction are: first, Under-Secretary of State James Rubin openly announced the U.S. State Department policy of recognizing and supporting the former King's and other moderate Afghan groups' role in bringing peace to the beleaguered country, and second, the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan bluntly warned Pakistan of the consequences of the political promotion and assistance it was affording to the Taliban movement, an extremist "Islamic" movement, which has failed to gain international recognition because of its harboring of terrorists and its medieval practices termed Islamic. This is certainly more than what we could expect. Many thanks to international pressure and to the U. S. women vote factor.
But we can't be overoptimistic. The words need to be translated into action. Though pressuring Pakistan is a delicate matter, we believe openness and firmness should yield proper response from Pakistan. A stop to Pakistan's interference should also lead to a stop to other neighbors' interference. A stop to arms shipments should not only increase the chances of peace but also pave the way for democratic decision making by people who for too long now have been denied their God-given civil and human rights by armed extremist groups.
Hopefully, Pakistan will see the futility of its long dreams of Afghan subjugation and instead enter an era of mutual friendship, cooperation, and promotion of economic prosperity for the whole region. Pressure of the right kind from the U.S. will guarantee that the Afghans will use the traditional mechanisms in their culture to work toward a truly broad-based government ensuring national sovereignty, democracy, territorial integrity, peace and prosperity.
The former King's role is not to take us back to monarchic rule. His role is to facilitate peace and to bring together the divergent groups, to make the nation whole again. For the Afghans, Islam is a way of life, and the traditional Loya Jirga is in concord with Islam as sure means of leading to democratic decisions, provided it is not abused by the wrong persons or powers. The key to all this is Afghan autonomy of action to freely choose their national, civic, and representative leaders who would not compromise Afghan national sovereignty.
There are some lingering doubts as to the efficacy of such measures at this late juncture. Both the uncompromising Taliban and the culture of war and dependency have become somewhat entrenched in Afghanistan. The Taliban, it should be noted, ridiculed the King's initiative calling it an old man's dream. Although the United Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan, previously known as the Northern Alliance, acknowledged the importance of the former King and the intellectuals' role in solving the Afghan problem, the extent of its sincerity is open to conjecture. Furthermore, the Afghans have witnessed too many promises and shattered hopes. However, with trust in the Almighty, weare confident that truth, honesty, and integrity will eventually triumph over the forces of falsehood, hypocrisy, greed, and injustice.
| With the fighting raging in various areas of Afghanistan and with the May 9th Taliban recapture of Bamiyan, we are once again hearing of Horrific Massacre of innocent civilians there (ethnic cleansing), burning and razing of homes, and of "terror campaign " against ethnic Hazaras. According to General Sayed Husain Anwari of Harakat e Islami e Afghanistan, the locals of Bamiyan have fled to the mountains, and "even if Amnesty intervenes," something he has urged, they can't return to their homes because they "cannot trust the Taliban". |
APDA Delegation Meets With
His Excellency Lakhdar Brahimi,
UN Envoy to Afghanistan
A delegation from the Association for Peace and Democracy for Afghanistan, chaired by Dr. Sayed M. Raheen, met with the UN Secretary General's Special Envoy to Afghanistan, Lakhdar Brahimi. APDA members Abul Qasem Ghazanfar (Afghanistan Voice Editor) and Mr. Nisar Zuri (APDA Representative in New York) were part of the delegation. Discussions focused on topics of interest pertaining to a peaceful solution of the Afghan problem. The delegation presented Mr. Brahimi with the following prepared APDA position paper:
Afghanistan: A Situational Overview Presented by the Association for Peace and Democracy for Afghanistan at the April 29, 1999 meeting with His Excellency Lakhdar Brahimi, United Nations Special Envoy to Afghanistan The Association for Peace and Democracy for Afghanistan (APDA), a worldwide organization of intellectuals and technocrats--many of whom reside in the United States-wishes to express its deep appreciation of His Excellency Lakhdar Brahimi's honorable efforts and acknowledges His Excellency's hard work and continued dedication to the Afghan peace process.
The contemporary history of Afghanistan is to a large extent clear. The tremendous human and material sacrifices of the valiant people of Afghanistan, given to reclaim their independence and defend their religious and cultural heritage, did not totally go to waste, but, unfortunately, did not produce the desired results either. Afghanistan became the new battleground for regional and even corporate aspirations for strategic dominance and access to valuable resources. The Afghans were robbed of their inalienable right to self-determination. Due to impossible odds and a series of foreign conspiracies, most factions proved unable to unite and create a political system representative of, and acceptable to, most Afghans -- resulting in the continuing destruction of infrastructure and loss of human life.
The APDA takes this opportunity to present some views on the current state of affairs in Afghanistan.
Our aims are to: look at all possible options to break the current stalemate in favor of a genuine and workable inter-Afghan peace process under UN supervision; aim for cessation of hostilities and initiate a national reconciliation program; encourage genuine cooperation and involvement of all countries, international organizations, NGOs and corporations in the rebuilding of thecountry; help grant the people the right to determine their own destiny and political system freely through an acceptable mechanism, such as the Loya Jirga.
Our Ultimate goals are to achieve: an honorable and just end to the political crisis in Afghanistan; an end to the Taliban ethnic cleansing campaign and ethnic-based forced displacement of civilians from their native lands; an end to human rights abuses and gender Apartheid; an end to terrorist activities and drug production and trafficking; an end to the destruction of all Afghan's shared traditions and cultural heritage; an end to the dictatorial rule of one faction, party or ethnic group over others; an end to foreign interference and proxy wars; the establishment of a truly independent, sovereign, stable, non-aligned, Islamic and democratic Afghanistan.
The APDA fully supports the United Nations-sponsored Six Plus Two group and believes that it can and should play a critical role in helping Afghans resolve their problems and work towards the goals listed above.
Furthermore, in observing the events unravel in Afghanistan for the past few years and the prospects for further peace talks between the conflicting parties, it has been established that the Taliban have shown rather an intransigent attitude and continue to unilaterally abandon the talks. It is the observation of the APDA that only with UN General Assembly recommendations and resolutions, no tangible results--yielding a positive Taliban attitude towards peace talks and promotion of reconciliation--have precipitated. Thus, the APDA highly suggests that through an effective role by the Security Council members, such as the United States, enforcement measures shall be adopted to prevent:
- Ethnic cleansing and forced displacement of civilians from their native lands;
- Gross violation of human rights, especially women's rights;
- Harboring of terrorists;
- Abandonment of peace talks.
The APDA is ready to fully cooperate with the UN-sponsored peace process on all above items to facilitate the continuation and success of the peace process and ultimately allow the people of Afghanistan to exercise their right to self-determination, peace and democracy. **
Courtesy Azadi Afghan Radio:
A statement dated April 30th. from the office of H.M. M. Zahir Shah, former King of Afghanistan, on the implementation of a proposed peace plan and an emergency Loya Jirga. Translation by Azadi Afghan Radio.
Rome, Italy April 30,1999
H.M. the former King of Afghanistan met in Rome over a three day period (between April 2729) with a number of his permanent and close advisers and reviewed the possibilities that exist for the implementation of a proposal that was submitted a few years ago aimed at reaching a political settlement of the Afghan issue.
At the meeting which took place in the presence of the former King at his residence in Rome, the following matters were determined:
1. Some of His Majesty's advisors were assigned to directly contact authoritative representatives of the Islamic movement of the Taliban and their opposition, and to convey to them the former King's invitation for their participation in the peace process and theneed to bring an end to the war and bloodshed.
2. A 30 to 35-member list was drafted for an Afghan committee to organize the emergency Loya Jirga (grand assembly). With God's speed, this group's meetings will take place in the next few weeks in Rome in His Majesty's presence.
3. The organizing committee of the emergency Loya Jirga will make arrangements for the convening of the assembly, the number of participants and their selection method, drafting the deliberation agenda, and issues related to the implementation of decisions.
May God grant us success.
Children of Conflict
Stories Featured on BBC World Service
BBC warned readers about the disturbing nature of these stories, and to protect the children changed their names and pictures.
The Rights of the Child
1999 is the 10th Anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.To mark this occasion, BBC World Service reporters have visited warzones across the world, to investigate what is happening to children. In the words of the BBC:
Here, you can hear thechildren tell their own stories and read ouranalysis of the difficulties they face.The 'how to help' section has information about local and internationalorganizations trying to help children whose basic rightshave been violated...Listen to UN SpecialRepresentative, Clara Otunnu talk about Children ofConflict at the end of the Millennium.
Here are a few stories, some pertaining to Afghanistan, abridged where possible:
Hilai's story
"I am ten years old. My father was an engineer. One day one of his colleagues came to our house and asked him to sign some documents. My father went to the gate to meet him when a rocket came and blew off my dad's head. My father's remains were blasted on to my mother. My brother, whom my father was holding in his arms, suffered head injuries. After a few minutes the United Nation's ambulance arrived and took my father's body to the hospital. My Mum was running around, but nobody could help her. My father had dreamt that I would became a doctor, and I am determined to fulfil! his wishes." ... Interviewer: "Were you separated from your mother in order to attend a school?" "Yes. I came here to study. Education is not available in Kabul. The Taliban are there. In the boys' school there, three hundred pupils are taught by just one teacher. We ask Taliban not to beat women. They are our sisters and they should respect our mothers and sisters."
Lili's story
"When the policemen come they take us and use us and put us in a cell."
Interviewer: "Have you been raped by policemen?''
"Yes several times."
Interviewer: "Have you made any complaints?"
"No, I never complain. Even if I did nobody would pay attention. Who can I complain to? I can only keep quiet and do what I am told."
Comment: May be the conditions presented above will bring us to our senses if we think we can afford to continue the bickering.
Excerpts from:
Cathy Gannon's (Associated Press) Report
Detailing Afghan Women's Reactions to Hollywood Support
Uma: "... recited a Persian-language poem, trying to explain why she thought Hollywood's celebrities cared about Afghan women. ''We are of the same body ... when one limb suffers the whole body cries inpain," she said shyly, speaking through a wisp of the burqa with which she covered her mouth.
In the United States, some of Hollywood's most famous have embraced the cause of women in Afghanistan, where they are the target of many of the edicts issued by the hard-line Taliban army, which rules most of the country.
The Taliban have banished women from the work force, closed schools for girIs, forced women to wear the all-enveloping burqa that covers them from head to toe and demanded women travel with a male relative. The strictest Taliban paints his first-floor window black to keep his women safe from prying eyes.
The men who defy the Taliban orders are publicly beaten.
Uma, whose worId consists of her sunbaked mud-and-straw home in a rocket-ruined neighborhood of Kabul, doesn't know of Hollywood or its celebrities. But she says she appreciates their concern.
"I don't know about American movie stars or who they are, but it is right for all people to feel for each other," she said through an interpreter. It is the human thing to do."
When Uma was a little girI, she dreamed of being a doctor, she said.
I remember when I was in school, I only went to (fifth grade), but I used to dream some day I will be a doctor," said Uma, who is now in her early 30s.
Today, at a cemetery in the heart of the war-torn capital, Kabul, Uma said her dreams are dead. What's worse, her dreams for her daughters are dying, she said.
What chance do they have?" she asked gesturing toward her two daughters dressed in their finest gold-colored clothes to visit the grave of their father killed in Afghanistan's protracted and bloody civil war.
At Monday's fund raiser in Hollywood, entertainers and celebrities felt the poignancy of what the Afghan women suffer.
Actor Sidney Poitier compared the situation to South African apartheid. In truth, they are one and the same. Oppression is oppression... Let's call it what it is. It is evil," he said. "Gender apartheid" in Afghanistan was the focus of passionate speeches, songs and dances before a celebrity crowd of more than 1,000 for a cause championed by Mavis Leno, wife of comedian Jay Leno.
The program, organized by the Feminist Majority Foundation, featured a videotaped message from President Bill Clinton denouncing the repressive actions of the ruling Taliban party.
Kabul once boasted 16 cinemas. Bitter factional fighting between Islamic groups destroyed 10. The remaining six were shut down when the Taliban overran Kabul and put an end to the fighting in 1996. Bearded Taliban soldiers rampaged through the archives and burned hundreds of films
As Uma spoke at the cemetery, se