A new experience for
Afghanistan By Golnaz
Esfandiari
After three decades of war and
bloodshed and four years since the overthrow of
the Taliban, Afghanistan inaugurated its new
parliament on Monday, but concerns remain that the
country's troubles are far from over.
The
ceremony - held under tight security - was
attended by President Hamid Karzai, former monarch
Mohammad Zahir Shah and US Vice President Dick
Cheney.
Karzai swore in 351 new
legislators, including former warlords and Taliban
officials, former communists, technocrats and
women. Karzai's recited the oath of office in
Afghanistan's two official
languages, Dari and Pashto.
During an emotional speech accompanying
the event, Karzai said Afghanistan "was rising
triumphantly from the ashes of invasion". He paid
his respects to those Afghans who had died for the
cause of Afghan freedom and said they would never
be forgotten.
"This land has resisted for
thousands of years, and it will remain standing
for all eternity," Karzai said. "Respected
representatives of the Afghan people, with the
formation of the National Assembly, the main
pillars of the Afghan government are now completed
under our constitution."
Karzai said the
parliament was crucial for the establishment of a
safe and secure country, but he added that much
work remained.
The North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) and the European Union (EU)
hailed the parliament's first session. NATO
secretary general Jaap de Hoop Scheffer called it
"a visible sign that the democratic process is
taking hold". The EU called the inauguration a
"historic occasion". NATO has a large troop
presence in the country, along with US forces.
This week, the US Defense Department said
it planned to cut the number of US troops in
Afghanistan by about 2,500 over the next few
months. The move would reduce the number of US
forces from 19,000 to about 16,500.
However, NATO said it was sending in
another 6,000 troops to add to the estimated 9,000
who largely carry out peace-keeping duties in
Kabul. The new force is expected to take a more
proactive role against the Taliban-led resistance.
Little experience Some analysts,
though, believe it could take months before the
parliament will be able to fully perform its
duties. Many of the legislators, or
deputies, have little or no experience in
politics and scant knowledge about how a
parliament functions.
In a recent
interview, Joanna Nathan, a Kabul-based analyst
with the International Crisis Group, acknowledged
that the deputies would need help, but said she
remained optimistic.
"Politics is a part
of everyday life in Afghanistan, so I think it's
not right to say that they are completely
inexperienced in politics," Nathan said. "But,
yes, they are going to need a lot of support to
begin with, learning their way. Some of them will
be illiterate, but I'm not too worried. Leaders
will emerge there pretty quick, and they'll know
what they are doing. They know about politics."
She said the new parliament represented an
opportunity for people from all over Afghanistan
to have their voices heard. "Until now, there has
obviously only been an executive," Nathan said.
"And we really see that there is a chance to pull
together a lot of people from a lot of different
backgrounds, perhaps from different factions in
the past, from different sectarian groups, getting
some women in there obviously, and bringing them
all together to give them a voice on the future
direction of Afghanistan."
Seyed Abdollah
Faramarz, editor in chief of the Afghan newspaper
The Voice of the Dawn, told RFE/RL in a recent
interview that, despite its shortcomings, the new
parliament was a step forward.
"Despite
all the problems, we have one hope: if the
parliament will be able to have an influence on
the system to a certain degree, to have a role in
reforming the bureaucratic system of the country,
it would be a good step," Faramarz said. "Until
now, there was a gap, and the government was
acting alone. It is better than not having a
parliament, and it is a positive step."
Many have expressed concern over the
bloody pasts of some of the new members of
parliament, including Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, a
powerful former commander who has been accused of
war crimes by the US-based group Human Rights
Watch.
Sayyaf said the parliament
"represents the reality of
Afghanistan".
Human Rights Watch's Asia
research director, Sam Zarifi, is quoted by news
agencies as saying "lots of Afghans are
disappointed and cynical because they feel like
people who perpetrated serious human-rights abuses
have been allowed back in the parliament."
Historic role for women For
others, the convening of parliament is a day of
hope, especially for the country's women.
Twenty-five percent of the seats in the People's
Council (Wolesi Jirga), the lower house of
the parliament, were reserved for female
candidates.
Malalai Joya, a female
legislator who caused an uproar early in the
country's post-Taliban transition by denouncing
the role of powerful mujahideen figures, has vowed
to stand up against those warlords who have been
elected to parliament.
"Today, our people
are concerned that the election took place in an
armed environment, and that is why our people and
the international community should not have
expected democratic elections, which didn't take
place," Joya said.
"We witnessed that
those with money, power and backed by foreign
countries came into the parliament. Their presence
pollutes our parliament as a legislative source.
But we shouldn't forget that some real and true
representatives of people also came into this
parliament. But, unfortunately, they are in a
minority."
Shukrai Barkzai, another female
deputy, told Radio Free Afghanistan that the
members of the new parliament should respect new
ideas, work to pass effective laws and teach
nonbelievers about the value of democracy.
Copyright (c) 2005, RFE/RL Inc.
Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio
Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW,
Washington DC 20036
