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TechnoratiCountries 'Wasting Money and Blood' in Afghanistan
A politician who has been described as "the bravest woman in Afghanistan" says that military intervention is not the way to find democracy in the war-torn county.
![[Malalai Joya gained international attention after accusing Afghanistan's leaders of war crimes. (Reuters : Ahmad Masoodd)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/joya-2.jpg "joya-2.jpg")
Malalai Joya gained international attention for standing before Afghanistan's constitutional grand assembly and accusing her country's leaders of war crimes, human rights violations and supporting the Taliban.
She spent most of her childhood in refugee camps and as a young woman she worked as a women's rights activist under the Taliban.
She ran underground classes and clinics that would have resulted in her torture and execution had she been caught.
In 2003 the secular Muslim made a fearless and emotional public appearance at a constitutional assembly in Kabul.
"War lords are responsible for our country's situation," she said in the speech.
"Afghanistan is the centre for national and international conflicts. They oppress women and have ruined our country. They should be prosecuted.
"They might be forgiven by the Afghan people, but not by history."
Her remarks were met by uproar from the 300 delegates, most of them former mujaheddin commanders and ex-Taliban officials.
In 2007 she was suspended from parliament for comparing it to a "stable or zoo" and later called the other members of parliament "criminals" and "drug smugglers".
"When I got into parliament, the war lords didn't allow me to talk. They turned off my microphone," she said.
"They beat me by throwing bottles of water at me and threatened to rape me inside the parliament. But they couldn't make me silent."
In hiding
Since then, Ms Joya has survived several assassination attempts and spent the last five years in hiding, never spending 24 hours in the same house.
But this hasn't silenced her. She has written a book, titled Raising My Voice, about her life and experiences as a female politician who dares to speak out.
"I have had five assassination attempts that you can read about in the book I have written on behalf of the 'war generation' and on behalf of innocent people," she said.
"The reason I accepted to write a book was first, to expose the mask of these war lords to the great people around the world and also to tell the truth, as mainstream media is always trying to put dust in the eyes of the people around the world by telling lies.
"Also... the pain and sorrows of my people are reflected in this book. I hope this book will open the minds and the eyes of more people around the world of this catastrophic situation that we are living in."
The book is currently being launched in Australia and is set to be published in 14 countries.
"One thing I am sure of is that not only my people, but people all around the world love the truth and what I did in this book is I said the truth," she said.
"Hopefully one day the truth will find its deserved place."
Intervention the 'wrong policy'
Ms Joya says she is disappointed in the United States' involvement in Afghanistan. She says her country needs to find its own way to democracy without military intervention.
"Everyone is always talking about what would happen if these troops leave us - a civil war will happen in Afghanistan - but nobody is talking about the civil war of today," she said.
"Unfortunately Australia has followed the wrong policy of the US, which is a mockery of democracy and mockery of the war on terror, and it is quite a war crime that they are doing there.
"We are between two powerful enemies. From the ground, the Taliban and the northern allies are continuing to commit crimes and fascism against women and men in our country.
"From the sky these occupational forces are bombing and killing the civilians."
She says she wants people to stand up to their governments against the "wrong policy" of military intervention in Afghanistan.
"These countries are wasting their money and blood in Afghanistan and I, on behalf on my people, pay my condolences to those people who lost their sons, their loves, their husbands in Afghanistan and have been killed," she said.
"They should raise their voices against the wrong policy of their governments."
Election
Ms Joya does not believe the upcoming election, scheduled to be held in August, will make any difference to the unrest and says it will just be "one puppet replaced with another puppet".
"The next president will be certainly selected behind closed doors at the White House. Our people will have no hope in the selection," she said.
She says the system is corrupt and there is no justice.
"On behalf of my people I am risking my life so that one day, together with my people, we will bring these criminals to the national and international criminal court, which is a prolonged and risky saga," she said.
43 Comments so far
Show AllLucitanian:
This is not about me,(I am imperfect and make mistakes),it is about wasting money and blood in Afghanistan and a very brave, courageous, Malalai Joya. I admire her and hope that she will gain the support of others in her country and throught the world and people will know the truth about how wrong the U.S. military intervention is in Afghanistan.
genie:
I agree with you entirely and Malalai Joya deserves the support of all in her very brave and difficult struggle. I think it will take many generations to heal the violence done in Afghanistan.
My late father was in Afghanistan in the 70's with UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) for four years and spoke of its marvellous, strong, and hospitable people. He also used to say, it is difficult to change the ways of traditional upland farmers, they have to develop through demonstration and experience, and in fact it takes two generations to improve the agriculture of Afghan farmers, but it takes one lost season to turn their sons into fighters, and their lives to hell, and then its lost, sometimes for ever.
The earth needs peace to give its inhabitants her bounty. Yes the earth is a "she" too!
The person to learn most from this woman is our traitor-in-chief of a president since he is hell bent on continuing this facade of 'war on terror' in afghanistan that w & dick masterminded beginning with the attack of 9/11 when those 2 have killed untold numbers of americans to further their corporate agendas, so guess what the answer to fixing this would be.
Response to Lucitanian July 4, 2009 10:54am
I believe that the Taliban misinterpret their religious texts when they throw acid in the face of little girls, stone a woman for adultry,throw bottles of water at Malalai, threaten or try to assassinate her, or commit any other atrocity against girls and women, like not allowing them to go to school or leave the house.I cannot respect their culture or religious belief any more than I can my religious leaders misinterpretation of the bible or my governments military violence.
You are not in good company when you delibertly misinterpret a comment in order to prove your superiority ,like the Taliban men or Popes who misinterpret the religious texts to establish their male superiority in the name of Allah or God.
I agree with you entirely that the Taliban include ignorant Zealots that are a disgrace to Islam, much like the puritan witch hunts in Colonial New England.
Approaching ignorance with violence, intolerance of a foreign culture and prejudices is not the answer. If you cannot respect them and their religion you cannot find in it the compassion and truth that is there as in all great religions to enlighten them and allow them to become aware that it is their duty under Islam to protect and honour their mothers and sisters, and that what they are doing in causing such suffering is an abomination.
I am not misinterpreting anything, I can see your, anger, fear, ignorance, intolerance and condescension. Just under 1/3 of the world is Muslim, and just over 1/3 is Christian but few of either religion are such ignorant cruel zealots and it is not the fault of their religion, and you will need to know a great deal more to stand as judge over 60% of the worlds population in terms of their beliefs. Most of the people who commit these crimes in Afghanistan have themselves been used and abused for 30 years of horrendous violence and war in which their beliefs have been corrupted to suit local and foreign interests, rotten with greed and lust for power in a depraved backdrop of total torturous misery.
You can hate men all you want, or blame them for your suffering, but your condemnation and anger will not right the wrongs and can only contribute to perpetuating the imbalance. Each man was a mother’s son or a sister’s brother. To right wrongs, requires peace, love, and understanding, in other word compassion, wisdom and time for these to develop normally.
I would like your understanding too. I have nothing to win but your positive efforts in the right direction to heal the wounds between genders and cultures, and if you cannot afford that, at least I hope that you drop the invective.
We have given the moral high ground to the MOST vulnerable of all revolutionaries the ISLAMIC WOMAN, ( how i love her).
Wheras most activists can look forward to beatings, arrests, imprisonment and maybe execution. The islamic woman gets gang raped before she dies. Hello? remember the serbian rape camps? Joya gets threatened with rape in a government building? oy...
We need to empower and support the islamic women's causes in every state. As soon as there is a willingness for Iraqi,palistinian, egyptian, iranian, turkish,yemeni and arabian women to come out of hiding and MARTYR THEMSELVES for the right to be alive and equal (as Fatima declares in the Quoran) this will be the turning point. but the men need to destroy themselves a while longer, maybe untill it's "too late".
After the DIE OFF, it will be a matriarchy, a GREEN, Gnostic,matriarchy. with a mother as it's symbol and standard, because then life will be precious again.
Even if the U.S. and other forces were not in Afghanistan, life for the Afghan women would still be hell under the Taliban. If 9/11 had not happened (who was behind 9/11 is a different story), the U.S. might have made a deal with the Taliban (for the oil & gas pipelines). Pakistani military and intelligence agencies would have a "trusted" ally on their western border, leaving them free to "focus" on India, and pursue their regional 'great game'. And, like I said, life for the Afghan women would still be hell. I'm NOT saying that the western forces are in Afghanistan out of concern for the Afghan women and children. I'm just pointing out that voices such as Malalai Joya's are few. The only way a nation can find stability is when leaders from within rise up and galvanize their population, and take on outside forces if necessary. I have seen so many activists speak out against military intervention - but I haven't seen the same people talk about how the Taliban came into being in the first place. (The Taliban that was in power are NOT the mujahideen that fought against the Soviets).
What a contrast: Malalai Joya and Sarah Palin!
What a contrast: Malalai Joya and Hillary Clinton!
· Yr Obd't Servant
She seem to a really a brave women. i happened to be from Peshawar. she is very rightly said that upcoming elections would be an eyewash. Afghanistan should resolver her problems without seeking foreigners help. Afghanistan govt is just providing base to anti Pakistan elements for creating instablity in Pakistan
Tears come to my eyes every time there is an article about Malalai Joya. God - or whatever one calls God - bless you, Ms. Joya, and keep you from harm. May you live long to continue your valiant struggle.
A terrific article for your 4th of July.
Whose Country is it anyway? A political-economic oligarchy has taken over the United States of America
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.phpcontext=
viewArticle&code=KOZ20090704&articleId=14226
*** Please share this with friends and family.
Kitty Lady wants the War Lords to be brought low, I say invite them along for a ride to and on the higher ground.
Ezeflyer condemns Conservatives, and in essence all humans, to a bestial past, I say humans had a past where we were more in union with the beasts of the jungle, but yet still maintained a human quality that we can still look to and maintain today.
This is why I say Joya, and all humanity, would be better off, and able to find more *joy...ah...if she would have said, and say, statements like: "the parliament was living like animals in the stable and the zoo, come to the farm house, I want to share with you the pleasures of a greater human dignity". (of course this is still an elitist statement degrading the animals in the stable and zoo; but let's start with the human species, then move on to the others)(*I know...the J probable isn't pronounced, or is pronounced differently then in my provincial 'merkan inglesh: but that's not the point - have a joy filled day!).
All I know is that I have a deep feeling of unease when I hear of, or see photographs and videos of, Ms. Joya. I certainly hope appropriate safety measures are being taken on her behalf, and ones that will not foreshorten her reach or her influence. She has great power. We know how those whose only power stems from the willing use of massacre and terror, from any side of any conflict, respond to those who have real power based in resolve, divinely inspired (and we aren't talking about any conventional understanding of GOD here!), and committed understanding of what must be done to push freedom's, real freedom's, evolution.
While I remain extremely skeptical of any real effect of spiritual exercises such as prayer and "visualizations", I do encourage all to do whatever it is that must be done to surround this woman with the protection she needs and deserves. The world needs her.
The woman is absolutly right. Armed intervention will never solve anything. All war has ever done is lead to yet another war. I see far to many people who say, "There have always been wars, therefore, there will always be wars." Sadly, they are right: so long as we take direction from the morons that call themselves leaders.
THE REVELUTION IS HERE, AND ALL AROUND US, THE POWERS THAT BE KNOW IT, THEY FEEL IT, THEY WILL START MAKING MISTAKES THAT WE NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF, BE PATIENT , AND ACT WHEN OPERTUNITY PRESENTS ITSELF, PEACEABLY AND LEGALLY.
THESE RIGHT WING FREAKS THAT HAVE TAKEN OUR COUNTRY ARE WEAK, NO ONE IS BUYING THERE CRAP ANYMORE.
THEY HAVE MONEY AND POWER, BUT WE HAVE SHEER NUMBERS , AND CAN TAKE THEIR MONEY AND POWER. THEY KNOW IT, THEY WILL COMPROMISE BEFORE THEY LOOSE WHAT THEY HAVE STOLEN.
AND ONCE WE HAVE TAKEN AMERICA BACK FROM THESE TRAITORS, LET US KEEP THEM DOWN AND OUT FOREVER.
WAR IS EVIL, AND MUST BE AVOIDED AT ALL COSTS, NEVER PREMPTIVELY STRIKE ANY COUNTRY THAT HAS NOT ATTACKED US IN AN ACT OF DECLARED WAR. WE ARE AMERICA, THE ACT OF 21 MURDEROUS CRIMINALS SENT US INTO A 7 TRILLION DOLLAR , 7 YEAR WAR IN TWO NATIONS.
HOW SMART WAS THAT. I BET FOR 100 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR, WE COULD HAVE BUILT UP LAWFUL SPY NETWORKS TO TRAK AND ARREST ALL INVOLVED , AND TURNED A COUPLE OF COUNTRYS AROUND TO HELP US WITH THAT MONEY.
NO, DO WHAT WE SAY OR WE WILL BOMB YOU. NAN E NAN E BOO BOO..
WE ARE ALL IODIOTS, BUT BUSH /CHENNEY ARE GREEDY EVIL DOERS, THE AXIS OF EVIL ARE ALL THAT REVOLVED AROUND THEM AND HAVE ALWAYS BEEN AROUND THEM.
Ms Joya's courage and commitment is an inspiration to me.
As juxtaposition, take Obama the coward, who promised the world, and then took cover under the wings of his corporate sponsors.
Profile in courage vs more of the same: Ms.Joya stands to lose her life, while Obama stands to lose his golden parachute.
"The next president will be certainly selected behind closed doors at the White House."
By voting establishment candidates, 130 million USans ensured in Nov 2008 that Afghanistan's next president would be selected behind closed doors at the Whitey House.
HAPPY JULY FOURTH -- supposedly ..........
of course it REALLY means :
AMERICA got rid of the British Empire shackles in order to "let freedom reign"
THE FREEDOM To
BECOME an EVEN BIGGER GLOBAL EMPIRE.....and TAKE OVER from where Britain left off......THAT's the ideaaahhhhh!!!!
Jeevee
The U.S. government has as much responsibility about killing people as they do about swatting flies.
"Unfortunately Australia has followed the wrong policy of the US ..."
Not to deny the Aussies their moment in the sun, but why should they get special mention? NATO involvement in Afghanistan was unanimously agreed by ALL of its members. In fact, the so-called International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan was created by the U.N. in response to U.S. demands following 9/11, and its takeover by NATO marked the first time in that alliances's 54-year history that it accepted responsibility for a "security operation" outside of Europe.
Of course, there has been just a little bit of "mission creep" since then, also in response to U.S. "leadership" of the operational activities, and it is true that recent governments in both Australia and Canada have been more enthusiastic followers than some others.
Australia gets special mention because this article is directed at an Australian audience. Look at the byline, the publisher. Joya is speaking to an Australian audience in this case.
I join in the praise of Malalai Joya, she is a great example for the women of all countries where females are oppressed.
"Democracy cannot be brought to the people by the barrel of foreign guns" I agree with Abendland. And Democracy cannot exist because people have ink on their fingers, because they voted for someone, who was chosen to run for office ,by the ruling class of dictators or by foreign occupiers. They need to be taught about holding community caucuses throughout the land. I heard that people in Iraq did not know how to do this. I doubt that Afghanistan held caucuses to select their candidates for their so called constitutional assembly.( One would hope that they would not have selected 300 delegates of the Mujaheddin commanders and ex- Taliban officials.) And there is no hope of democracy when women are disrespected. What happens in these countries where women are brutally oppressed is like domestic violence where women loose confidence in themselves. They are convinced that they deserve this treatment.Therefore women do not unite and fight for their rights with Malalai.
The women of Afghanistan need to be helped with counseling and education. Women must learn that they are equal to the male population and they must not let men deny them their human rights, by blaming God or Mohammed.
genie:
I respect and prays the work of Malalia Joya too, but your ideas on democracy and the self determination of women is parochial, condescending, and lacks fundamental understanding and tolerance of cultural and social differences.
Freedom is a relative term. You feel you are free to be a self delusional tax paying indebted wage slave in a materialist capitalist godless military industrial tyranny of waste, drug, entertainment, and propaganda addicted masses serving a small sociopathic cultist elite.
Now, do you think the Afghan ladies will find "freedom" and "democracy" in mimicking your system with your advise and council?
Please understand that your system has failed, their system is changing and evolving.... you do not know how to "better" their condition. Only they do.
You write: "The women of Afghanistan need to be helped with counselling and education. Women must learn that they are equal to the male population and they must not let men deny them their human rights, by blaming God or Mohammed."
We have the US Air force and NATO killing hundreds of women and babies, along with innocent males and "insurgents" fighting to get foreigners and their dictates out of their country, because ignorant people like you feel you have the right to impose your interpretation of human rights, your ideas of governance, or democracy and a sustainable social order in line with the dictates of a NWO on these proud people.
Just imagine if Bin Laden had the biggest military in the world and after destroying Washington LA and NY and making 100 million Americans refugees in Canada and Mexico, used a puppet government of gangsters to apply Sharia law, and some woman from Yemen, was telling you how you should be counselled on your behaviour and lack of modesty.
Now that is about how most Afghans INCLUDING WOMEN see yours and the West's uninformed interference in their affairs..... Their freedom to worship Mohammed and live by Sharia law or apply it as they see fit is their human right too.
This woman is right, and any American who supports this war, no matter his or her station, is an absolute idiot.
Fellow men, we need the "balls" that this great lady has!
Are we being lied to by Obomber?
Malalai Joya is a real hero. I have loved her ever since i saw the videos of her standing up and telling her fellow reps they were rapists and murderers and so on. there are also videos of her working her district, Farah province. Her constituents really believe in her.
Why can't we get leaders like her?
I am so disappointed in Obamber that I cannot express my despair. Ms. Joya is a very brave woman and I wish her well. I would like to believe that someday (not in my lifetime) the warlords in Afghanistan and in the US, Great Britain and elsewhere will all be brought low and people can have what they all long for - peace, a home in which to live, food for their families and a little recreation. I do not think that is too much to ask.
But - I am a Libran and still think that life should be fair!
But we have a statue of liberty, not a statue of fairness.
Ms. Joya is a brave and strong person that deserves being read and listened to and she is not coming from the foundation of delusions, as is NATO the US and the UK, and that is why she makes sense and can be direct and honest.
If the readers want to have a better idea of the problem of these delusions that are causing the wrong headed thinking especially by foreign powers, I would strongly suggest reading the article in the London Review of Books, The Irresistible Illusion by
Rory Stewart
http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n13/stew01_.html
read also:
The Limits of Power; The End of Amercan Exceptionalism" By Andrew J. Bacevich, Metropolitan Books, N.Y.2008
B.U. professor with a clear enunciation of the National Security Ideology which drives all this madness.
"She says the system is corrupt and there is no justice"
This, unfortunately, has been the goal of our leaders in many countries that the U.S. seeks to dominate. People like this heroic lady are increasing in number because trust in leadership of top people in governments is GONE. It's not coming back. The elite bastards will fight tooth and nail to preserve the corruption. It will get very ugly. Afghanistan is just ahead of us.
..."the bravest woman in Afghanistan" says that military intervention is not the way to find democracy in the war-torn county.
-Malalai Joya I admire and salute your bravery, but if you think this has anything to do with democracy you have been duped.
What a brave woman.
Conservatives here, conservatives there, dominating, raping, stealing, polluting, torturing, lying, deceiving, killing. Troglodyte throwbacks to our bestial past.
Democracy? Democracy is one of a number of forms of government.
What is the purpose of government?
As Thoman Paine writes in COMMON SENSE -
"Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our POSITIVELY by uniting our affections, the latter NEGATIVELY by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first a patron, the last a punisher."
So we can see that the purpose of government in any form is to punish.
What can be more punishing than to have bombs dropped on people's heads? This has been the American goal for quite some time now. War, Pestilence, Famine, Death and a little collateral Plunder to keep the whole thing going eon after eon.
So we'd benefit by looking, hearing, sniffing, touching, feeling deeply into society?
Good for Joya, but she didn't make the connection (not in these quotes, at least) between the war lords and the Americans. Those barbarians, who are worse than the Taliban in that they are just as autocratic and backward but ungoverned by any higher moral principle, are "our guys." After they'd been routed by the Taliban--who, for all their backwardness, brought a semblance of order to the country--we brought them back as our "men on the ground" in the "war on terror." Way to go, Shrub and Obomber. Let's hear it for barbarism, rape, and the law of the jungle. Pretty soon it'll be six years of this madness. "Change you can believe in" must mean no change at all. Maybe we should try some unbelief.
Re clovis July 3rd, 2009 11:28 am
Empire always elevates the most corrupt to rule over its outposts (Marcos, Pahlavi, Somoza, Diem and now Karzai) because principled people (Mossadeq, Allende, Bishop etc.)
can't be trusted to sell out their countries. Damned inconvenient, those principle thingies.
The most outspoken critic of the escalation in Afghanistan and Pakistan was Republican Congressman Ron Paul. "It just seems like we never learn from our past mistakes," he said. "It's going to cost a lot of money and it's going to cost a lot of lives.... And the odds of it working are so slim.... How do you win the hearts and minds of these people if we're seen as invaders and occupiers... I'd like to know where you stand on the killing of innocent Pashtuns...?"
We have lots of real heros like Malalai Joya and Ron Paul, but we would rather listen to Richard Holbrook the hawk of all hawks. And what does that say about our President who hired him? We love violence in America. If you doubt that, why do we love to watch so much of it.
We don't love violence in America, we're addicted to the excitement, and are compulsively linked to the adrenalin rush that escalates to violence. Most Americans do not distinguish between excitement and pleasure; and for good reason, as the conditioning and familiarity to excitement can begin at infancy with how the parent lifts the baby, and how they address developmental achievements; and then advertising reinforcement. It will be the true pleasure of organic love relationships that will ultimately lead humanity away from violence as the norm of human relations. (note: I did not write the "pleasure of fucking" or the "pleasure of nicie nice Hallmark" - I wrote the pleasure of organic love relationships, intimately sexual, and more importantly 4th chakra predominately other).
Dead bodies are a great investment, actually. If the dead bodies represent those who stand in the way of military 'progress'.
AMERIKA ROCKS!!
(sarcasm)
I salute you and admire you, Malalai Joya: you are an exceptionally courageous human being.
May you be safe from the brutes who are trying to kill you and silence you!
You are absolutely right to say that your "country needs to find its own way to democracy without military intervention."
Democracy cannot be brought to a people by the barrel of foreign guns.