TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Afghans fed up with Taliban 'angry brothers'
The Talibanâs new chief, Mullah Mansoor Akhtar has already called for new waves of deadly attacks against the people of Afghanistan
Change Size
T
he Taliban's new chief, Mullah Mansoor Akhtar has already called for new waves of deadly attacks against the people of Afghanistan. Taliban militancy remains the dominant cause of fear and insecurity in most Afghans' lives.
So I remain confused by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's remark when he addressed the US Congress in March: 'In order to heal the national wound, it was necessary to apologize to the Taliban as some members of the group suffered torture and ill-treatment and their grievances are legitimate.'
Likewise the previous president, Hamid Karzai, has repeatedly called the Taliban his 'angry brothers'. Yet the Taliban do not even acknowledge the current government as legitimately Islamic. Our government apologizing to the Taliban puts it at risk of joining hands with terrorism. Afghans perhaps now cannot even dream of a day they can be freed from constant war and violence.
The Taliban's challenge to peace and stability remains the key to Afghanistan's future. How can we reach a workable settlement with the Taliban and other militant opposition groups?
Our country's stability is further threatened by the international community's withdrawal and the low capability of Afghan security forces. American-led NATO combat deployment effectively ended last December, but NATO's continuing training mission, 'Resolute Support', seems insufficient to strengthen our security forces to the point where they could stabilize the country.
Regrettably, even after 14 years of war, terror remains resilient and severe for Afghans. Given the chaotic politics and security, the international community must reassess Afghanistan's prospects of achieving stable security. What little has been achieved by international intervention is now jeopardized. If the situation further deteriorates, even greater numbers of Afghans will flee their homeland and compound the already massive global refugee crisis.
The Taliban has already begun massive, alarming offensive maneuvers in the Southern Helmand and Northern provinces of Kunduz, Faryab and Badakhsan. There are now pockets of fighting all across Afghanistan.
When the Government of National Unity was formed after last year's presidential elections, probably most Afghans at least hoped that political cooperation would contribute to better security. Today however the withdrawal of most international troops and the rising, spreading challenge of Taliban militancy has inflicted a sense of 'strategic helplessness'. Our road to 'peace' stretches further into the distance the longer we walk it.
What can be done?
Firstly, since the GNU's inception, a vital mutual working strategy between the two heads of the Afghan Government of National Unity has been missing. The distrust between President Ghani and his chief executive officer, Abdullah Abdullah, is causing a political and security vacuum.
These are the cream of Afghanistan's current politicians; they have to co-exist and cooperate. As an Afghan, I believe we have endured enough ill-fated political arrangements that have resulted in calamity. We should have learnt from these lessons and by now understand why and how our politics must be our shared responsibility.
Despite all the setbacks, nation-building is underway. Handing the Taliban a share in government will lead to disaster. Those who have committed human rights abuses must be barred from government.
Taliban officials in the past claimed to be 'restoring peace'. The new Taliban leadership has increased attacks to weaken the government's capacity to manage national security. They step forward for peace talks, while disrupting any peace process. This apparent paradox shows its demands are not just about symbolic representation in a government of reconciliation, but aim for an equal share of power.
The Taliban movement will continue to strive for Emarat-e-Islami, their version of an Islamic State. Talking might continue but the consequences for the most vulnerable can be seen from a recent UN report: in the first half of 2015, a 13 percent rise in child casualties and 23 percent increase in women killed in Taliban attacks. The total of almost 5,000 civilians killed and injured is much higher than the same period last year.
If 'peace talks' become feasible in the coming months, we would be asking for mercy from the merciless. The most fragile parts of the country will be at risk of the peace of the burqa, of Talibanized Islamic law; the renewed suppression of women and girls, cowering in their homes; the silence of a citizenry, particularly ethnic minorities, terrorized by the Taliban's violent and arbitrary application of their version of law.
If the Taliban agreed to join the national government, they would demand key ministries ' probably justice, interior, and religious affairs. How could involving the Taliban leadership in government generate solutions to the challenges of security, the economy, the opium trade, women's' rights and massive official corruption?
Taliban bosses again? Frankly I don't get that. The majority of Afghans are fed-up with their criminal 'angry brothers'. Afghans demand that the Taliban be brought to account for their massive human right abuses.
If the government believes reconciliation with the Taliban is vital to a peace process then it must ask the people, through a referendum. Let Afghans decide their own fate.
Today, the streets of Afghanistan are becoming vibrant again; people listen to music openly; they wear fashionable clothes. Children's' lives have improved, and even adults are returning to school.
As personal lives improve, how much longer must Afghans live with this constant fear for their security? In many places people still fear that if they go out and about they might be killed by a Taliban suicide bomber or attacked by other religious fanatics.
As long as this pressing danger is part of daily life, notwithstanding any 'better now' for many Afghans, a better tomorrow for Afghanistan might still be centuries away. The responsibility rests with our political leaders. Indonesia can and should use its influence as the largest Islamic majority nation, to persuade Afghanistan's leaders to work together constructively and avoid the dangers from compromising with terrorists and fanatics. Should the Afghan 'experiment' with democracy fail, the world, including Indonesia, will also share the heavy consequences.
_______________________________
The writer is a former Afghan news presenter, based in Indonesia.
