We Afghans know this election will change nothing. It is merely a show of democracy put on by and for the West, to legitimize its future puppet in Afghanistan.
Like millions of Afghans, I have no hope in the results of this week's election. In a country ruled by warlords, occupation forces, Taliban insurgency, drug money and guns, no one can expect a legitimate or fair vote.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
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<p style=""><span style="">I am not sure how many more days I will be alive," Malalai Joya says quietly. The warlords who make up the new "democratic" government in Afghanistan have been sending bullets and bombs to kill this tiny 30-year-old from the refugee camps for years - and they seem to be getting closer with every attempt. Her enemies call her a "dead woman walking". "But I don't fear death, I fear remaining silent in the face of injustice," she says plainly. "I am young and I want to live. But I say to those who would eliminate my voice: 'I am ready, wherever and whenever you might strike. You can cut down the flower, but nothing can stop the coming of the spring.'" </span><span style=""></span>
ReplyDelete<p style=""><span style=""><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Arial; mso-hansi-font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;"><span style="color: #800080;">http://www.zmag.org/znet/viewArticle/22232</span></span></span>
The reason she is still alive is because the brave ANP and ANA are protecting her.
ReplyDeleteThe ANA is by far the most loved, respected, admired and competent institution among Afghans. To call it "warlords" is beyond stupid.
<span style=""> To call it "warlords" is beyond stupid.anand</span>
ReplyDeleteDemocratically elected warlords. It's a puppet anand. Wake up from your eternal sleep.
Nobody's fooled over here in the UK (just as fleming speaks for all Americans I speak for all Brits). The newsreaders in the studios are telling us about the progress towards democracy, then they go to the reporters on the ground and ask "Is it going well?" "Well sort of," is the reply "apart from the bombings, the assassinations, the ballot-rigging, the corrupt government, the vast areas where no electoral officers or monitors dare go." "So it's a good day for democracy in Afghanistan?" "We-ell ..." "That's enough good news from Afghanistan."
ReplyDeleteThose reporters on the ground are trying hard, but standing there among the mutilated corpses and burning vehicles it's tough going.
The British people are overwhelminly opposed to the Afghan adventure. There has always been a majority against British military involvement. Unfortunately our government's foreign policy is dictated by Washington, not the people it was elected to represent.
Jemmy, I didn't know you were British. Should have known from your name!
ReplyDeleteI thought my spelling (humour, etc.) and vocabulary would give me away.
ReplyDelete... or did you just think I can't spell? (I do my best)
ReplyDelete"There has also been an effort to generate an atmosphere of rising public enthusiasm for war, against all prevailing evidence. The Guardian – the least pro-war newspaper in Britain – reported on a poll that showed support for the war at approximately 46 percent, with 47 percent opposed. The same poll in fact showed majority support for withdrawing the troops either immediately or by the end of the year. Later polls indicated that a clear majority of people in Britain remain opposed to the war."
ReplyDeletehttp://www.organizedrage.com/
I guess I read so much British stuff that I didn't notice.
ReplyDeleteVAA, if the Afghans want to elect leaders you detest, well that is your problem not theirs. VAA, many Sunni Arabs and others think they have the right to attack and mass murder civilians in any country that elects leaders they don't like. Deplorable.
ReplyDelete<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="">To ensure his re-election Karzai cut deals with many ruthless warlords linked to drugs and responsible for war crimes.</span>
ReplyDelete<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/04/afghanistan-president-hamid-karzai-election</span>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="">By any measure, today’s presidential election in Afghanistan is a travesty. The poll takes place under conditions of a continuing foreign military occupation to prop up a puppet government that is notorious for its human rights abuses, corruption and failure to provide for the basic needs of the vast majority of the population.</span>
ReplyDelete<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="">http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/08/20/afghanistana-8217-s-gunpoint-election</span>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span>To ensure his re-election Karzai cut deals with many ruthless warlords linked to drugs and responsible for war crimes.</span>
ReplyDelete<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span><span><span style="color: #a9501b;">http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/may/04/afghanistan-president-hamid-karzai-election</span></span>
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<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="">By any measure, today’s presidential election in Afghanistan is a travesty. The poll takes place under conditions of a continuing foreign military occupation to prop up a puppet government that is notorious for its human rights abuses, corruption and failure to provide for the basic needs of the vast majority of the population.</span><span style=" "> </span>
ReplyDelete<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style=" "> </span>
<p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="">http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/TPV3/Voices.php/2009/08/20/afghanistana-8217-s-gunpoint-election</span>
BTW, I dislike Karzai. I know the Iranians pushed for him to be PM in December, 2001; and that he did achieve some things in his early years. He is also probably the most acceptable mainstream Afghan politician to Pakistanis, and the one most eager to negotiate a deal with "moderate" taliban.
ReplyDeleteThis said, I hope Abdullah beats him.
r.s., what do you think about the Afghan election. What concerns me about it is that turnout was high in the North, West and among Turkmen, Uzbechs, Hazara Shia and Tajics. However, it appears to have been low in Helmand, Kandahar and some other Pahstu areas (with some notable exceptions such as Khost and Gardez.) This makes me worry that Pashtu Afghans will be under represented in the elected provincial councils. Good local governance is essential to Afghanistan's success. {It also gives the international community and NGOs the option of partnering with the best provincial and district governments while denying aid to less competently administered districts and provinces.}
ReplyDeleter.s. could you please explain what you mean by "<span><span>failure to provide for the basic needs of the vast majority of the population</span></span>." As you know, GIRoA annual revenue is about $600 million/year; or significantly less than Afghanistan's annual education expenditures. The GIRoA's steady state spending might be $6 billion a year, or ten times its annual revenue.
r.s. in an American context imagine if the US government collected $3 trillion in annual tax revenue while spending $30 trillion. This is at the heart of why the GIRoA cannot afford to increase social and economic development spending more than it has.
Where do you think the GIRoA should get the revenues to increase social spending (which your quote implies you favor)?