Afghan Women Lead Protest against Government Corruption, War Escalation
Dan Clore
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smygo
latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-fg-afghanistan-protest11-2009dec11,0,320839.story
Afghan women lead protest against government corruption
In an unusual display of female political activism, several hundred
demonstrators demand that President Hamid Karzai purge those connected
to corruption, war crimes or the Taliban.
By Tony Perry
8:34 AM PST, December 10, 2009
Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan
Several hundred women, many holding aloft pictures of relatives killed
by drug lords or Taliban militants, held a loud but nonviolent street
protest today, demanding that President Hamid Karzai purge from his
government anyone connected to corruption, war crimes or the Taliban.
"These women are being very brave," said the protest leader, her face
hidden by a burka. "To be a woman in Afghanistan and an activist can
mean death. We want justice for our loved ones!"
Afghan police, in riot gear, monitored the rally as it worked its way
slowly through muddy streets to the United Nations building here, but
they did nothing to disrupt the event.
The unusual display of political activism by women comes as Karzai is
under increasing pressure to remove from his Cabinet anyone connected to
rampant corruption, including links to the flourishing drug trade. His
own finance minister says corruption is the biggest threat to the future
of Afghanistan.
Karzai, elected to a second term in a vote marred by ballot-stuffing,
had been expected to announce his selections for Cabinet positions this
week, but he delayed his announcement until next week.
In a surprise visit to Kabul this week, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert M.
Gates said he hopes that Karzai appoints reformers.
Karzai declined to say who he will appoint but promised that his
selections will satisfy the Afghan public and the international community.
The protest group, under the banner Social Assn. of Afghan Justice
Seekers, said that "our people have gone into a nightmare of
unbelieving" because of the disputed election and the fact that "the
culture of impunity" still exists despite Karzai's vow to eliminate it.
While the women took the lead in the protest, about 500 men followed
them in support, an unusual display in Afghan culture of men allowing
women to take a leadership role.
The group spokeswoman, who gave her name as Lakifa, said many women are
still afraid to demand an accounting of the death or disappearance of
family members during the three decades of war that have ripped Afghanistan.
"We need to know about all of our martyrs, and the government needs to
find the mass graves and the killers, not give them jobs and protect
them," she said.
Although it was not a major focus of the protest, the group was also
critical of President Obama's decision to send additional troops.
"The innocent and oppressed people will be the victims of American air
and ground attacks," said the group's statement handed to Afghan and
U.S. reporters.
Earlier this week, the Afghan Rights Monitor released a poll suggesting
that half of Afghans think of the Karzai government as illegitimate
because of the election fraud. The Cabinet selections, said the group's
director, Ajmal Samadi, represent a "win or lose time" for Karzai.
"Mr. Karzai must urgently implement transformational reforms in all
aspects of his government or accept grave consequences," Samadi said.
--
Dan Clore
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Phlip
> Several hundred women, many holding aloft pictures of relatives killed
> by drug lords or Taliban militants...
and by our puppet gov't's Sharia Law Lite implementation...
Michael Snyder
Day Brown
> The unusual display of political activism by women comes as Karzai is
> under increasing pressure to remove from his Cabinet anyone connected to
> rampant corruption, including links to the flourishing drug trade. His
> own finance minister says corruption is the biggest threat to the future
> of Afghanistan.
economies which funds corruption and terrorism. If recreational drugs
were legal, but regulated like other recreational drugs- alcohol and
tobacco, then- in an open market, the money could be tracked and cut off
from both corruption and terrorists.
The rational thing would be to tax recreational drugs so that the money
could be used by the families of drug users for treatment, education,
and even counseling by family clergy. Course, without all the criminal
drug cases, a lot of lawyers would need to go to work for a living. And
well... we cant have that.
And, since it is their brothers at the bar who run all legislatures,
nothing will be done.
Part of the problem as well, is the Muslim dogma to keep women barefoot
and pregnant. The result is families so large the only way farmers can
earn enuf to feed them is by growing poppies. But you cant send a
Christian army to try to promote birth control.
Phlip
> Dan Clore wrote:
>> The unusual display of political activism by women comes as Karzai is
>> under increasing pressure to remove from his Cabinet anyone connected to
>> rampant corruption, including links to the flourishing drug trade. His
>> own finance minister says corruption is the biggest threat to the future
>> of Afghanistan.
> My sympathies. But it is the drug money, which comes from developed
> economies which funds corruption and terrorism. If recreational drugs
> were legal, but regulated like other recreational drugs- alcohol and
> tobacco, then- in an open market, the money could be tracked and cut off
> from both corruption and terrorists.
In short, we won't legalize because the criminals and terrorists don't want us to.