"Even Water, Under Pressure, Can Explode"
Well, talk of owning the podium, Hamid Karzai has managed to legitimize his flawed electoral success by changing his country's laws to remove foreign observers from the electoral watchdog task. In future elections no inconveniently probing foreign election watchdogs will be on the alert to detect election irregularities and outright fraudulent proceedings.It is so foreign to the country to anticipate reliably uncorrupted protocols in electing their top politicians after all, and heritage should be seen to prevail. What a victory that represents.
Mr. Karzai's latest initiative results in the UN-backed watchdog which tossed roughly a third of the votes cast for him being effectively negated. His election 'win' was palpably absurd, since strictly speaking he received less than the 50% required to avoid a run-off vote.
His major opponent, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, in all likelihood might have succeeded in overturning the questionable results had he not withdrawn before a second round became a possibility, since he was concerned that the same corruption that occurred the first time around would simply be repeated.
And look where Afghanistan's president is leading his country. UN-associated and NATO troops have been battling the Taliban in an attempt to give the country an opportunity to assert some democratic credentials and institute a reliable, responsible, self-confident government to serve its people.
And Mr. Karzai has his reconciliation scheme to buy off Taliban foot soldiers, and offer Taliban leaders a place in his government.
Effectively returning the country to its former status struggling to achieve some semblance of humanity under the thrall of a totalitarian theistic Islamist government. "With these latest talks about negotiating with the Taliban, ethnicity is now the most divisive issue in Afghanistan", according to Niamatullah Ibrahimi, with the Crisis States Research Center in Kabul.
Mr. Rabbini explains that a cabal of Pashtun nationalists enjoys status in Mr. Karzai's inner circle. A group including those who call for the ethnic cleansing of a large proportion of the country's population; Tajiks, Uzbeks, and the persecuted Hazaras. Somewhat troubling to Afghanistan's minorities with their still-vivid memories of Taliban massacres and pogroms.
"As I read history, when a nation's problems become this complex and they are not solved, that could result in violence and revolutions and other unwanted things. There is a limit to the patience of the people. Beyond that limit, no one can be patient anymore", said 70-year-old Bernahuddin Rabbani, a former president of the country.
Mr. Rabbani's stepping into the fray in support of the anti-appeasement opposition carries great weight. He was also responsible in assisting Hamid Karzai to ascend to the presidency in Afghanistan's interim 2002 government. Now, he fears fratricidal warfare, reflecting the state of affairs that existed prior to the removal of the Taliban.
An alliance of Afghan democrats, women's rights leaders, reformers and MPs has gathered in defiance of Hamid Karzai's "peace at any cost" initiative to solving the problems of defeating the Taliban. Appeasement, and welcoming the Taliban back into a position of power and entitlement to destroy all that has been achieved since their ouster reflects his vision.
Even former enemies like pro-democracy Pashtuns and former northern warlords have formed an alliance to defeat the potential of the government forming an alliance with the Taliban. While Western powers ponder the issues and hesitate to reject Mr. Karzai's plan for success, lest it delay their future plans for withdrawal.
Labels: Human Rights, Political Realities, World Crises
posted by Pieface @ Wednesday, February 24, 2010
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