Afghans march against terrorism and for a political system to
secure their future
PhD Researcher, International and Political Studies, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, UNSW Australia
Source: theconversation.com
The Afghan capital Kabul witnessed a historic protest on
Wednesday when tens of thousands of people marched to the presidential palace. It
was the largest demonstration in Afghanistan’s modern history. Demonstrators
carried the coffins and photos of seven innocent people – including two women
and a nine-year-old girl – whose bodies were found on Saturday.
Afghan officials reportedly said Islamic State (IS) had
kidnapped these ethnic Hazara people several months ago and held them in the
Arghandab district of southern Zabul province. While serious questions remain
about the circumstances of the kidnapping and killings, the captives had been
brutally beheaded just days ago. Their bodies were sent to their families in
the Jaghori district of Ghazni province.
In a marked sign of respect, national security forces allowed
protesters to move freely around the square in front of the palace. The
demonstration was largely peaceful, except when guards opened fire on
protesters who tried to breach the palace gate. A presidential spokesperson
said ten protesters were wounded.
The protest had been looming for a long time. At one level, it
was a demonstration of national solidarity against violence and terrorism. Amid
increasing insecurity, highlighted by the fall of the provincial centre Kunduz to
the Taliban, the demonstrators chanted in support of Afghanistan’s shaky
political system.
At the same time, reflecting anger and disappointment with the
poor and discriminatory performance of the national unity government, the
protesters called on the international community to continue supporting the
Afghan people’s struggle against violence.
Goal is not to overthrow the system
Street protests and uprisings are not new for the people of
Afghanistan. In the 1960s and 1970s, Kabul University students protested and
overthrew the king, ending over two centuries of rule by the monarchy. In the
1980s, the Mujahideens’ violent uprisings caused the fall of the Soviet-backed
government, followed by a brutal civil war in Kabul in the 1990s.
Despite differences in form and timing, previous protests and
uprisings shared two important features.
First, the pace of political reform failed to match the public’s
desire for change, resulting in chaos and disorder. As political scientist
Samuel Huntington has said:
[Social
disorder] is the product of rapid social change and the rapid mobilisation of
new groups into politics coupled with the slow development of political
institutions.
Second, the target of the protests and uprisings was the
political system of the time.
A
significant aspect of Wednesday’s protest was that the people voiced support
for the current political system. EPA/Jawad Jalali
However, on Wednesday, the demonstrators chanted in support of
the nascent political system, a mark of its strong legitimacy among a majority
of the Afghan people.
In another significant development, the protesters came from all
walks of life and included men and women and all ethnic groups of the country:
Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras, Uzbeks and other minority groups. They emphasised
national solidarity over their ethnic and sectarian differences.
Speaking on the local Tolo TV, protest representative Zaki
Daryabi said:
Their
demand goes beyond the safety of the Hazaras and they want justice for all
Afghans regardless of their ethnicity, sect and location.
On the same day, people in Zabul province, mainly from the
Pashtun ethnic group, organised a separate protest in support of the
victims’ families and the demonstration in Kabul.
These developments reflect significant social and political
changes in Afghanistan over the past decade. Among other things, it has a
widely legitimate constitution and national security force.
In 2014, from a very low enrolment base in 2001, around eight million
students attended schools. About 250,000 students, including 20% women, were
enrolled in 144 higher education institutions.
Today, the internet, mobile phones and other media connect
Afghans to the outside world more than ever before. Facebook users played the
leading role in the organisation and coverage of Wednesday’s demonstration.
Some local TV stations provided live broadcasts.
Leaders get a wake-up call
These protests should serve as a wake-up call for government
leaders to work more for the security of the people. To do so, they must put
aside personal and political differences. As a first step, more than a year
after the national unity government took office, they should work together to
appoint a defence minister.
As he promised justice, President Ashraf Ghani
and his political allies need to review the past year’s security policies and
demonstrate greater political will in fighting the Taliban and other insurgent
groups. After the fall of Kunduz and previous killings in Jalriz, Ghor and
Badakhshan, which were similar to the latest beheadings, military support from
Kabul arrived too late or did not arrive at all.
Poor logistical organisation and widespread corruption no doubt
played a role. However, concern is growing about the true intent and the
political will of Ghani and his security advisers in fighting the Taliban, as
they all belong to the same ethnic group.
Finally, the protests are a call for continued support from
other nations, including Australia. It is promising that General John Campbell,
commander of the NATO-led force in Afghanistan, called on Wednesday for
national unity in Afghanistan and reiterated the commitments of the United
States and other NATO governments to the “peace process” with the Taliban.
In reality, the “peace process” is in limbo. This is because of
infighting among Taliban factions and political
differences between Afghanistan and neighbouring Pakistan, which supported the
Taliban in the past.
As such, Afghans are demanding a clearer policy by their
government and the international community towards the Taliban and other
insurgent groups which continue to murder civilians. In particular, Australia
should add the Taliban factions to its listed terrorist organisations.
Otherwise, ongoing insecurity, extreme poverty and poor
governance threaten to destroy the legitimacy of the shaky political system
and, with it, Afghanistan’s future as a country.
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