SUPPORT COMMITTEE FOR FAWZIA KOOFI
Ms. Fawzia Koofi, a Selfless Leader, a Modern Thinker, Poet,a kind mother, an articulated teacher and a Linguist
Taliban Fights for the Interests of Pakistan
Note: This speech is translated from Farsi into English. Ahmad Zia Massoud is the younger brother of Afghanistan National Hero Ahmad Shah Massoud. Mr. Zia served as vice president in President Karza’s frist round.
Ahmad Zia Massoud’s speech at the ninth Anniversary of the martyrdom of Ahmad Shah Massoud, the national hero of Afghanistan.
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Dear brothers and sisters; respected guests, Jahidi leaders, Mr. Qanooni, Dr. Abdullah and members of the cabinet and parliament, and honorable diplomats, As Salam-u-alikom.
I cordially thank you for your gathering on the occasion of the ninth Anniversary of the Martyrdom of Ahmad Shah Masoud. And I pray God almighty rest the soles of our martyrs in peace. I pray, by the gracious blood of them shed and their sacrifices made, God secure our independence and freedom and bring peace and stability to our beloved country Afghanistan.
Celebrating the legacy of legendary Ahmad Shah Masoud, the national hero of Afghanistan, reminds us of the sacrifices and efforts ours heroes made tirelessly and with great passion for protecting our freedom and independence. We still have some of those heroes among us. These are the hero who fought alongside Ahmed Shah Masoud. They raised the flag of freedom and independent and stood firm in the fight against the foreign invaders. They fought because they want to protect our homeland territory, to safe guard our national and Islamic values and secure our freedman independence. Ahmad Shah Masoud fought on two fronts; he fought against invading Red Army and he fought against Pakistani conspiracy and Al-Qaid and Taliban.
Ahmad Shah Masoud and his friends had the strength and power to stand against invasion on both fronts, and protected Afghanistan against foreign occupation. After his assassination and arrival of foreign troops in Afghanistan, new faces emerged in the political arena of Afghanistan. So far, security has worsened and people are uncertain about their future. Taliban as a power threaten national security and their influence has been extended to more and more coroners of the country.
Ahmad Shah Masoud and his companions stood bravely against. They fought without any foreign supports. They defended our country from occupation. Today, we see the presence of NATO in Afghanistan. Including the Afghan forces, there is more or less a total of 300 thousand troops well equipped with modern weaponry on the ground. They still have hard them defeating a 20 thousand fighter Taliban insurgency. Why? Why, under the leader ship of Ahmad Shah Masoud, were mujahedeen forces able to defend themselves against Taliban successful? Why did do well? And why are we now in a standstill and have a defensive position?
The biggest mistake is done by the western countries. These western powers tried to push Mujahedeen and freedom fighter, who have been very sincere with the national interest of Afghanistan, to one side and installed new figures brought from the west. It was a big mistake!
They did not trust the Mujahedeen. They would think that, by bringing these figures and elites and making a government of the type they want, they would be able defeat international terrorism in Afghanistan. But it proved wrong. And now we see things are out of control and security is getting worst day by day. They were thinking by sending some individuals from the west all of the problems of the country would be solved and this war torn country would attain stability. Our people are more uncertain about their future. The current situation hurts them physically and mentally.
The heroes of Afghanistan, who fought the soviet invasion and defended their country, have emerged from the midst of the masses. They have been shaped by the events that have occurred in this country. They know their people and they are well respected by their people. Why don’t we learn from those who defended this land successfully? Why don’t we follow their examples? We are not in an ordinary situation. We need to discuss our issues at meetings and gathering such as this one.
By the way, our nation leaders and figures, who have earned the respect of our people, believe in certain values. We need to follow their footsteps and believe in those values and principles. Only this will ensure our success in the fight against threats to our security and stability. Our national heroes are honest with this country and are willing to protect our national interests. Our heroes sacrificed their personal interests over national interests. And what they left for us are good memories and great legacy. But unfortunately in the current situation no one has a clear definition of the national interests.
National interest is defined as goals and ambitions for the prosperity of the whole nation. It is not just government institutional gain and gain of certain individuals or certain segment of the society. If in a society public interests are sacrificed for individual interest and gain, then there is injustice in that society. In a society where is no justice, there would be corruption, unrest and chaos. And sooner or later tension would develop among different segments of the society in many forms, ethnic and other types.
For the same reason, securing public interest is of central importance in a civilized society and it serves the basis for the foundation of the government in that society. When we talk of public interests, we do mean interest of a particular ethnic group, but we mean the interest of all of the citizens of the country. In our country, there is no institutionalization of the government and presidency. A power misbalance between the presidency and other government institutions would adversely affect the integrity of the government. A powerful office of president may weaken other government institutions. In such a circumstance, public interests are sacrificed for individuals ones.
In our country, this is the biggest problem, but no one is paying attention to it. If power is not institutionalized in a government, that government is not competent and cannot do anything for the prosperity and safeguarding the rights of its citizens. In such society there is no role of law and there is no justice. When there is no role of law and no justice in a society, that society will go into chaos and corruption will prevail.
A government is said to be a corrupt one, when there are weak governmental institutions, when there is no role of law in the society and when there is no justice in the distribution of wealth among and provision of equal opportunities to the citizens. Such a situation will finally affect our national unity. Our leaders consider themselves above the law. Our main problem is bypassing law. A government can only act within the framework of law. But in our country, there is a state of lawlessness. Nobody abides the law.
Other important issue is the relation of different ethnic groups of Afghanistan with one another. It is known to everyone that currently the binding forces between ethnic groups have been weakened and ethnic tension has reached its peak. People do not trust the government. People are more centered on their ethnic identity than national identity. They are divided more along ethnic lines than political views. Unfortunately, the government is doing nothing to secure national unity and encourage participation of all groups in the political processes. The current government structure does not reflect the ethnic mosaic of the country.
In a country with multiple ethnic groups, a particular ethnic group cannot dominate the government. Such a government fails to address national issues and face challenges. In a country with multiple ethnic groups, power should be institutionalized through political process. Only with such a strategy, we can solve our problems.
People do not trust and do not support a weak and corrupt government. For the same reason, in some part of Afghanistan, people support Taliban. A question is raised here. Why do people in some southern and south western province welcome Talban to their villages and provide them shelter? The answer is obvious. They do not trust a corrupt government and do not support it. I strongly believe if we had a nation government with no corruption, the people themselves would have fought the Taliban by themselves, even with no engagement of the governments.
I would like to discuss here another issue. We all know that Taliban and other terrorist groups are not strong enough to have an impact on our daily lives. But we definitely suffer if we do not have a transparent government. Who are the Taliban? Taliban do not have a political agenda. They fight for the interests of Pakistan. It has been said that there will be political negotiation with Taliban. Can we negotiate with the mercenaries that have been fighting for the interests of a neighboring country? Afghan people do not let them to be part of their government establishment.
The proud people of Afghanistan never accept foreign influence in their affairs. When Pakistan says that Taliban can not take part in the negotiation process, it is clear that they are agents of Pakistan. Why should not we talk directly to Pakistan? Pakistan should hand over Taliban leader Mullah Omar to us. If Pakistan is not ready to do so, we should ask the international community to force Pakistan to do so. I strongly believe, in the physical absence of Taliban top leaders, Taliban will no longer have that power to sabotage peace in Afghanistan. The ordinary Taliban, if they abide by the law of the land, may live their lives as peaceful citizen of this nation.
The last thing I want to say here is that I urge upon all intellectuals, political groups, religious leaders, civil societies and political and national leaders to be part of a political movement that focus on the vital issues of our nation and rescue Afghanistan out of this chaos. We can not trust a government that is weak and has been infested with corruption. Such a government has no capacity to address our problems.
Nation unity is very important for Afghanistan. If we do not have national unity based on empowerment of all ethnic groups, we can not make a strong government. A strong government needs people support and people mandate. No political, social, cultural and economic reforms are possible without strong political institutions.
We will not achieve what we want with bad strategies. I strongly request the Jehadi leaders and other political leaders work for unity. We should build political infrastructures based on the unity of all ethnic groups and befit from the experience of other nations. Without such a strategy, we can not make a government that could address the needs of our people.
At the end I pray for the souls of all martyrs, and ask God to help us with building a free and stable Afghanistan.
