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The Demo in Afghanistan’s Democracy It was only in 2001 that the Afghans placed their hopes in a government of national reconciliation based on democratic principles that would drag the country out of the abyss it had fallen into as a result of a quarter century of war, foreign intervention, local mistrust, insecurity and lack of a national and efficient government. From then on, Afghanistan has served also as a lab for the US desire to install democratic regimes in third world countries. Installation of democratic regimes anywhere is well and good only if there were no questions regarding the compatibility of the system with cultural, social and economic conditions prevailing in the target countries. The Greek word “demos” referring to the people and “cracy,” referring to the system of government, carry double meanings in the case of Afghanistan. Demo, may mean demonstration of the fact that Western style democracy can be exported from highly developed nations in the West to the third world countries. Therefore, Afghanistan would serve as a demo piece. And cracy, in the case of Afghanistan, would also mean, coupling of ruling by the gun with ruling by peaceful means. Reconciling of the old ways and the new ways in Afghan socio-political life is not an easy task. The US sees any success in Afghanistan’s democracy as a success of the programs of the President of the United States. Yet, it has not been able to effectively help the Afghan government demonstrate that it is in control of its own destiny. At times, the US has put the Afghan president on the spot only to appease the power base of the US government in the United States. A famous example of this could be seen in the very public pressure it exerted on the person of the Afghan president regarding the case of the Afghan convert who faced trial at an Islamic court. In Afghanistan the real demo, the people, numbering around 30 million have suffered greatly in a long imposed war that shook the foundation of the country’s life like a catastrophic earthquake, demolishing anything and everything related to the infrastructure as well as even some of the important cultural values of the nation. Today, the people, thanks to the United States military intervention, enjoy a democratic republic led by a democratically elected leader. The country has a progressive constitution and an elected parliament. Who can wish for anything more! Yet the prerequisites for a smooth running of democratic governance are not fully in place. Literacy is lagging behind in all sectors of the population and especially among women. Education in itself is a long-term program and requires many years to produce results. The country lost at least 25 valuable years that could have been used to educate its youth. Thus a big gap shows in the level of the country’s education. An infrastructure for democratic governance does not exist and needs to be built up. Democratic institutions in the society need to be created and nourished before they could come to fruition. Ancient values persist and need to accommodate new values at par with the 21st century requirements. But the system has not produced the desired results, namely security and prosperity. Nor has it created satisfaction among the populace. The reasons are obvious: The much- needed national army is still in the making and its development has been extremely slow. An effective police force to meet all the security needs of the population is also in the making. Democracy is still to become operative fully in line with democratic principles and the parliament seems in great need of finding its own way through democratic process. Those who represent the people in the parliament are found puzzled themselves as how to use their new powers bestowed on them by the country’s constitution and the trust of the people placed in them by general elections. The constitution did not mandate any formal educational level for people to run for the parliament; therefore those elected did not have to have formal education. However, the constitution calls for the ministers to be chosen from among people with higher education. The constitution also places the fate of the ministers with higher education in the hands of a less educated parliament who decide on their appointment to the executive. The irony is obvious. The parliament is made up of individuals from a myriad of schools of thought belonging to both genders. The presence of women mandated by the constitution has eliminated to a great degree their isolation from the national life. Yet the same parliament has members that believe that women should not even travel without a male chaperon. The irony is obvious! The parliament consists for the most part of members with affiliations with Jehadi groups and way of thinking. It also has members that are secular in their way of thinking. There are extremists and liberals needing to work together. The irony is easy to see. For the most part parliamentarians need to be educated as to the ways a parliament in a democratic system operates. For this they need an open mind and a humble ego. Rare qualities! It has become fashionable in many developing countries of the world to oppose the establishment. It is falsely believed that by doing so you show that you are progressive, nationalist, enlightened and revolutionary. On the other hand, if you support the administration and agree with its objectives you are called a lackey, a rubber stamp. It is this mentality that has ruined the relationship between different organs of the state in some of these nations where the executive and the legislature are thrown apart, not on philosophical grounds, but because it is fashionable for the two to oppose each other. . Afghanistan could be one example. And the nation could suffer. It is under these circumstances, that the Afghan President has presented the parliament with a list of his cabinet. He would have been happier, had the parliament agreed to vote on the government as a whole. But the parliament has decided not only to vote on each minister separately, but has asked for the curriculum vitae of each one in advance. Now there will be a debate on each case. The ministers would be asked to address the parliament in support of their own appointment and in 15 minutes describe their programs. They will each then answer up to eighteen questions after which a secret ballot would decide the fate of their appointment. Those who had been in the government before have to demonstrate that they have produced palpable results in the work of their ministries. The new ones would have to convince the deputies that they are capable of alleviating the nations needs in their areas of expertise and administration. Obviously talk is cheap. The main question is whether the parliament that is headed by the chief of the so-called opposition and includes a considerable number of the Jihadi groups would buy it. Reportedly, some Jihadi leaders such as Burhanuddin Rabbani, whose son-in-law is serving as the vice president, have started openly criticizing the head of the State especially after he had effectively dismissed, Abdullah Abdullah, from the portfolio of foreign minister in his cabinet. Observers of Afghan issues note increased impatience by the public with the slow pace of development in the country. They further note a state of so-called non-achievement by the parliament that was only quick to decide on rather lucrative salaries for its leaders and members, but has been rather inert regarding other pressing issues. Thus in the Afghan democracy, the people and the rulers need to come together and quickly. They should set aside their personal egos and interests for the greater interests of the nation. The demo in the democracy should mean the people and people’s representatives should educate themselves to play their historic role in the country’s democracy so that palpable results are achieved for the prosperity of the nation. The nation’s patience is wearing off and time is of essence. 4/1/06 The views
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