[R-G] Afghanistan: No more occupation

[Anthony Fenton]

No more occupation
by Meaghan Kerr
Josh Szczepanowski
http://martlet.ca/view.php?aid=39882
Afghan parliamentarian Malalai Joya headed a rally to end the war in  
Afghanistan.

“In the name of democracy and peace: dear friends, while Afghans are  
being marginalized, suppressed and silenced, you give a helping hand  
to me as a small voice of my suffering people.”

So began a lecture by controversial Afghan parliamentarian Malalai  
Joya on Oct. 28 at UVic’s David Lam Auditorium.

Joya spoke as a closure to the Pan-Canadian Day of Action Against War  
in Afghanistan. The weekend saw major anti-war demonstrations in 21  
Canadian cities, and Joya was in both Vancouver and Victoria to speak  
at events. The 29-year-old critic and activist is travelling across  
Canada to raise awareness on human rights issues in Afghanistan,  
particularly women’s rights.

Earlier in the day, protesters met at the B.C. legislature before  
marching to the Canadian Forces’ recruitment office on Fort Street,  
with Joya as a special guest. The event was sponsored by Victoria’s  
Canada Out of Afghanistan coalition, made up of several anti-war  
groups including BC Labour Against War, the Raging Grannies, and  
UVic’s Students Against War.

Joya has survived four assassination attempts and now travels wearing  
a burka and has several bodyguards while in Afghanistan. After  
repeatedly denouncing other members of government, she was suspended  
from the Wolesi Jirga (Afghanistan’s national assembly) in May of  
this year.

Joya’s lecture concentrated on corruption of government, the plight  
of Afghan women, and criticism of the NATO-led mission. She cited  
four major opium producers who are also members of Parliament as  
proof of rampant government corruption, and claimed that over 60 per  
cent of MPs are criminals through their association with the opium  
trade.

“There is no question that Afghanistan needs international support,”  
Joya said, but added frequently, “We want liberation, not occupation.”

She accused NATO of propping up a government for appearance’s sake,  
while in reality occupying and repressing the country.

“The Northern Alliance [current government] has the same mind as the  
Taliban,” she said, adding that people are no more free than they  
were under the Taliban rule of the ‘90s. Joya said farmland takeovers  
by the wealthy, warlord rule, and kidnappings still occur on a  
regular basis.

The 2004 Afghan constitution states that “man and woman have equal  
rights before the law,” however it does not explicitly prohibit  
forced marriages or the bartering of girls. In the first six months  
of 2007, 250 women committed suicide, a number Joya says is higher  
than at any time in Afghan history.

“Today people are sandwiched between two enemies—the Northern  
Alliance with the U.S., and the Taliban,” she said.

Joya compared the Northern Alliance to Mussolini and Pinochet, using  
legitimate channels to solidify power. Record numbers of Afghans  
voted in 2005 show the country wants democracy, she said, but their  
choice is limited.

“The only hope we have is in democratically-minded people of  
Afghanistan,” said Joya. “I believe the power of people is as the  
power of God.”