Afghanistan – A New Dawn?
The election for the Afghan parliament is yet another step in the process of rebuilding Afghanistan following the war. But there lies a long road ahead when both the President and the local authorities have to barricade themselves behind barbed wire and concrete for their safety. On Monday afternoon “Horisont” meets the warriors, candidates and warlords and gets the President’s perspective on the future of Afghanistan.
Intro:
Last Sunday the Afghan people participated in an election for the parliament for the first time in 30 years. The election is the last stage of the international agreement, which was made after the war against the Taliban. The agreement was made to secure the afghan people a new constitution, and an election for president and parliament. The election has been a difficult operation due to the lack of infrastructure as well as the continuing existence of and activities by the terror organisations such as Al Qaeda and Taliban.
”The War against Terror” began precisely four years ago when American fighters attacked the extremely fundamentalist regime of Taliban in Afghanistan. After a few months US alongside afghan warriors from the so called Northern Alliance overthrew the Taliban-regime and sent Al Qaeda on the run.
The international society swore that now was the time to rebuild Afghanistan, now was the time for creating democracy and lasting peace so that fundamentalist movements such as Taliban and Al Qaeda should never again be able to gather strength in the tall mountains of Afghanistan.
But what has happened? “Horisont” has travelled in Afghanistan and followed the preparations for the important election on Sunday – the first in over 30 years – to find out if Afghanistan really IS on the road towards a peaceful and democratic future or if it is just about to slide back into violence and civil war.
Henrik Lerche/ Afghanistan
It is not just because of the dust that it is hard to see exactly where Afghanistan is going. This road connects the capitol of Kabul with the city of Kandahar nearly 400 kilometers further south. The road has just recently been asphalted which is a major improvement, but the biggest problem concerning the road has not yet been solved. The road through the province of Zabul is considered to be one of the most dangerous in the country due to the regular kidnappings and assaults – Our afghan military escort has prohibited us from stopping and filming in this area.
Mark Stammer/ US Army (ENG)
(18.19 - In keeping with our anticipation the enemy has and tried to increase their activities preceding the election. Both to gain a catastrophic victory to discredit the election, but also to gain a recruiting class for the madrasses over the wintertime.)
From official sources it has been said that more than 1100 sympathisers of the Taliban have been killed in the battles. Many Afghan governmental soldiers have been killed or wounded. And American troops have also suffered severe losses. Until now 77 men have been killed this year in Afghanistan which is much more than ever before.
Mark Stammer/ US Army (ENG)
19.39 - I believe we've had more casualties this year because we're in more places where we haven't been before. We've gone into the heart of the historic sanctuary of the taleban and we have stayed there. And we're gonna continue to stay there through the winter and into next spring as well.)
The director of the election operation in Afghanistan, the Dane Peter Erben, is on a courtesy visit at the governor of Zabul. The governor is the highest official authority in the province, but there is not much he can do to protect the election-workers. He knows perfectly well that it is the foreign coalition forces which are really making the election safe.
Just a single successful terror attack would be considered a victory the forces that does NOT want a democratic election in Afghanistan. There are a lot of those forces in the province of Zabuls biggest city Qalat. The city election-office has been transformed into almost a true desert fortress, which the employees do not dare to exit. They work, eat and sleep inside the walls – many of them have been here for several months.
Peter Erban / Valgchef (DAN)
The province of Zabul is relatively small concerning voters but the security problems are overwhelming - in this area there are still ongoing struggles with many of the Taliban forces and at the same time our staff has to go trough with the election while fights are raging in the districts. There is no doubt that many of the afghan we have hired, nearly 6000 district-officers, are ready to risk their lives to go through with the election. They live in a violent environment so they are kind of more used to the level of risk than we are. Is it possible to talk about a free and democratic election if it is necessary to gather up that much military power just to go through with it?
There are many levels of elections. A country that has just finished being in war has to start somewhere in building democracy and there is no doubt that this election does not meet the high and fine standards of western Europe. But the most important thing, in spite of the troubles in doing so, is that this election will result in a government elected by the people. If you had to wait with electing a government until everything was just peace - it would nearly be impossible to get democracy started in Afghanistan.
Some of the candidates for the parliament election have a past in the Taliban movement, i.e. some candidates are former ministers of the Taliban government. The Taliban candidates are running for office in Kandahar. With more than half a million citizens Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan. On several occasions it has been the capitol of Afghanistan, most recently under the regime of Taliban – and both the Taliban leader Mullah Omar as well as the Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden own beautiful villas in the city. Two of the most hunted terrorists, who in spite of 4 years intensive search, have not been found.
Henrik Lerche/ Kandahar
An old man offered us to show us around and tell us about the Taliban warriors, who is buried here – to him heroes and martyrs, who have given their life in the battle against the northern alliance.
Here lies a 26 year old Taliban general who fell in the Pansjher valley north of Kabul. His Brothers transported the corpse all the way back to Kandahar to give him the funeral of a hero.
[ Pause – music]
In a city where the fallen Taliban soldiers are still considered celebrated as heroes it is not surprising that the authorities are having troubles with the security. The election office in Kandahar still has to live with the continuing threats of attacks.
Andy Cambell/ Regional coordinator (ENG)
(Up here is where a UN-vehicle hit an IED (improvised explosive device) and was destroyed...)
Eight out of ten election-related killings have occurred in the Kandahar region. Four candidates and four election officials have been murdered. The map on Andy Campbells office also marks other violent actions – roadside bombings, kidnappings and assaults. At a certain point the supporters of two rivalling candidates were in direct battle with each other in the streets – and several nights before the election rocket were launched towards Kandahar from the nearby mountains. The local police officers asked us not to travel outside the city for our own safety.
Dr Abdullag (ENG)
(2.10.30 Taleban have certainly stepped up their effort, but - They are the enemies. they don't want to see - )
Four years have passed since the northern alliance and the American lead coalition beat up The Taliban warriors of Mullah Omar and then conquered Afghanistan. So how can they suddenly appear again? Shouldn’t they have been killed or send to Guantanamo Bay?
Probably, the truth is that they have been there all along. Many Taliban sympathisers were killed or imprisoned under the war, but most of them have just changed clothes and shifted sides while awaiting the situation. Security experts have estimated that more than half of the most religious citizens, deep inside, still sympathise with the Taliban movement.
Faizullah Zaki/ Kanditat (ENG) (They have not given up the idea of talebanism. Talebanism is the ideology of domination. Domination is not a way for settling the problems of Afghanistan.)
The Chief of the Danish NATO forces in Afghanistan lieutenant cornel Claus Dixen-Møller acknowledges that there is still not – four years after the end of the war –control of all of Afghanistan.
Claus Dixen-Møller/Oberstløjtnant, chef Dancon (DANISH)
There are certain security problems especially in the southern and south-eastern parts, where you do not have a complete overview of the hostile units - Taliban and Al-Qaeda. We are currently putting an effort to control it, but not as an occupational force. It is important to underline that it is to support the afghan and to support the legal government in office.
(PAUSE - de marcherer) One of the most important assignments for the afghan government is to establish a strong national army, so that in time the afghan people will be able to keep the country safe and secure. But the army has to be both large and powerful in order to be able to handle the threats of the many armed groups. The training is in action – here are the new recruits learning the march on command. But it is hard to concentrate and marching is not the only thing the afghan soldiers are finding difficult.
Tom Woldger/Kaptajn ISAF (DAN)
They are doing pretty well in the basics - now they are working together as units, which of course is starting out with working within squads, platoons - and now they are about to coordinate actions on the company-level. But there is no doubt that it is in working together between units they have there biggest problems.
It will take a long time before the goal – a well educated army of 40000 men – has been accomplished.
Tom Woldger/Kaptajn ISAF (DAN)
There have been some episodes where they have been put to the test of an ambush - but the reactions we have got have not been that suitable yet. They have been shooting in different directions in stead of waiting until the commands of the leaders so they can be sure that you shoot the right units. The common soldier is good enough - he wants to be a soldier - he is proud to be a soldier and it is an honour to his family that he is a soldier. So there is no doubt that with the right training you can build a really good army in Afghanistan.
Until then there is still the need of a big international force present in Afghanistan. At this point almost 20000 American soldiers are working together with afghan units and special-forces from other countries to continue the battle against Taliban and Al-Qaeda – the so called “Operation Enduring Freedom”. Meantime the 170 Danish soldiers is part of the international NATO ISAF force which counts approximately 10000 soldiers from 21 different nations.
Claus Dixen Moller (DAN)
We support the legal government in office, but we keep ourselves in the second row. One of the assignments is the training of the military and the police and in general put an effort in upholding security.
Here at one of the many checkpoints outside the city the governmental forces have stopped a minibus with 15 long-bearded elderly men which they want to investigate a little further. But - besides the traffic security – the men in the minibus are not endangering anyone so they are permitted to continue. Episodes likes this is mere routine. Generally it IS more secure to be in the capitol area than in the southern provinces – but even in Kabul there has been assaults before the election. The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, acknowledges the necessity of foreign troop’s continuous presence in Afghanistan.
Hamid Karzai/Præsident, Afghanistan
If these forces were not here, if the coalition wasn't here....
...will there still be Danish, American and other foreign troops in Afghanistan in 5-10 years time?
In the northern part of Afghanistan, on the other side of the mountains and through the famous Saland tunnel, it is not the Taliban creating problems, but some of those who helped overthrow the Taliban regime -The so-called warlords. One of them is Muhammed Atta, who is today the governor of the Balkh-province in the north. He is also defending his old profession.
Muhammed Atta/Guvernør, Balkh-provinsen
(In Afghanistan we can't say only bad about the warlords. There are a lot of warlords who were real mujahedeen, who were fighting for the freedom of Afghanistan. I will not critizise them.)
Several of the soldiers whom we spoke to, afghan as well as international, are worried about the continuing power of the warlords.
Claus Dixen-Møller/Oberstløjtnant, chef Dancon (DAN)
I am certain that in the provinces some of them are still active. They are heavily armed even though there has been a strong demilitarization through the past years. Some of these groups, who supposedly also provide for themselves by criminal activities among others the production of opium, will be a threat up to the election, because they know that a stable Afghanistan is not good for business.
This is marihuana fields, not far from the governors resident in Mazar-e-Sharif. Earlier on there were fields of opium all the way to the edge of the road, but now they have discretely been moved further into the country and been replanted with marihuana. The difference is the same - both plants are illegal.
Hamid Karzai/Præsident, Afghanistan (ENG)
(The cultivation of poppies is a serious problem in Afghanistan. It hurts our dignity. It embarrasses us.)
The opium production is hard to stop – the peasants of Afghanistan need the money in order to survive, the warlords need the money to keep their power. From the governor in Mazar-e-Sharif we went further north.
Henrik Lerche/Sheberghan (DAN)
Sheberghan is a little dusty city in the far northern corner of Afghanistan. The biggest attraction in Sheberghan is not a mosque which it usually is in other cities, but instead a palace in the center of the city, which belongs to the famous and notorious warlord: General Dostum)
(We see General Dostum’s home)
General Dostum does not just own this luxurious palace – he has also got his
own political party, his own army and his own city.
-Hamidullah/Indbygger i Sheberghan (DARI)
A good man, a good man! He protects people, he takes care. He is our commander, our man, he's like a father to us. What more can I say?)
Muhammad Jakub/Indbygger i Sheberghan (DARI)
(General Dostum is a good man, he is a hero of Afghanistan. UD 34.15)
Amanullah/Indbygger i Sheberghan (DARI)
(If general Dostum was a candidate, we would vote for him.)
Sheberghan is the city of Dostum. He was one of the leading warlords of the northern alliance and played a key role in the victory over the Taliban-regime. After the war he kept a private army with thousands of soldiers, heavy weapons and tanks. We would like to have asked Dostum how many weapons and soldiers he has, but he would not speak to us.
Claus Dixen-Møller/Oberstløjtnant, chef Dancon (DANISH)
“There is no doubt that he has got dirt on his fingers and he is also one of the warlords that is still influential. Whether or not he gets power in the new government I do not know - but I will certainly have my doubts.”
Threatening warlords in the north – killings, shootings and disturbances in the south – and then there are all the other problems that follow 25 years of war. That is the picture of the Afghanistan, which is on the road to its first election in over 30 years. But the afghan people are tough and to them the election is a light in the dark. The enthusiasm is big. Kabul is almost in a flood of election posters and the numbers of candidates willing to loose their lives is record high – almost 6000.
Nasrullah/Vælger fra Karabaq (DARI)
“It will get better. Our country will quiet down, the deputies will be elected. The situation i regionen will improve.”
Allah-Ud-Din/Vælger fra Ghazni (DARI)
“Everything will be normal. Everything will be good to the benefit of our country and its people”
Ehsanullah/Politiofficer, Kabul (DARI)
“Inshallah, we shall be able to provide security for the people. We serve the people and they should not be afraid to vote. We will make our preparations for the elections.”
The majority of the voters do not know the candidates and will probably vote like as this camel-guy.
The international election-organisation has been doing a lot to learn the thousands of afghan how to technically follow through an election-process. There has to be taught 6000 election officials, so that they can educate even more people in the local areas.
Homejra Zamir/Valg-koordinator (DARI)
“It's the first time people try to elect representatives. We are gathering experience. We had a lot of difficulties last year and we will have again this time. But we want elections, we want our country to have a parlament like others.”
Even for a man like Peter Erben who has got the responsibility of many difficult elections around the world, the election-process in Afghanistan is a special challenge.
Peter Erben/Valgchef (DAN)
It is a country that has been in civil war in so many years that the country is just more or less falling apart. It has not got any infrastructure, there is not any roads, People have not been going to school, 80% of the population does not read - and then it is a country where there still is a lot of conflicts around especially the border areas, which is giving us a serious amount of security problems. So there is no doubt that Afghanistan has been a very special challenge to us.
Six candidates have been murdered in the days before the election. Out of 6000 it is not considered Afghan measures, but it still underlines that there IS a significant risk by going actively into politics in a country such as Afghanistan - Especially in the province.
Gulalai Habib/Kandidat, Kabul (DARI)
(In the majority of provinces it is still the power of the gun, power of the gunman, of the person with the weapon, so the danger still exists and there is a big threat for the women of Afghanistan....
...To accept democracy is very difficult. And those who see democracy as a threat to their interests, they will try to get rid of all those who want to build democracy, those who will create a new Afghanistan and who are willing to have a free A.)
Gulalai Habib is one of those who – despite the risk – are running for office at the parliament. She is a school teacher and has been an advocate for women’s rights – except for the years under the Taliban regime, where she, like many others, had to flee to Pakistan. She thinks it is hard to be a woman in Afghanistan.
Gulalai Habib/Kandidat, Kabul (DARI)
(In an islamic country (sunna country) where a woman is counted as a second grade person, where a woman has no right to divorce, in a country where the islamic rules (sunna rules) are still in power, where old laws are still in power - a woman naturally faces problems.)
27% of the seats in the parliament is reserved for the women – in an attempt to get rid of the old prejudice.
(The women of Afghanistan have lost the war, but they can win the election.)
And maybe the women are the future of Afghanistan – the men have definitely not done the job until now.
Hamid Karzai/Præsident, Afghanistan ( ENG)
(Our most serious problem is the lack strong government. In terms of its ability to deliver. Because we don't have sufficient manpower)
Hamid Karzai/Præsident, Afghanistan (ENG)
(The futur? Do you have How would you like Afghanistan to be? A prosperous nation)
Now the Afghan people have cast their ballot. Then comes the big practical job of gathering the ballots and counting them. The results will start to come in the next week, but not until the 22 of October is the final result expected with all the names of every member of the new afghan parliament.
The election for the Afghan parliament is yet another step in the process of rebuilding Afghanistan following the war. But there lies a long road ahead when both the President and the local authorities have to barricade themselves behind barbed wire and concrete for their safety. On Monday afternoon “Horisont” meets the warriors, candidates and warlords and gets the President’s perspective on the future of Afghanistan.
Intro:
Last Sunday the Afghan people participated in an election for the parliament for the first time in 30 years. The election is the last stage of the international agreement, which was made after the war against the Taliban. The agreement was made to secure the afghan people a new constitution, and an election for president and parliament. The election has been a difficult operation due to the lack of infrastructure as well as the continuing existence of and activities by the terror organisations such as Al Qaeda and Taliban.
”The War against Terror” began precisely four years ago when American fighters attacked the extremely fundamentalist regime of Taliban in Afghanistan. After a few months US alongside afghan warriors from the so called Northern Alliance overthrew the Taliban-regime and sent Al Qaeda on the run.
The international society swore that now was the time to rebuild Afghanistan, now was the time for creating democracy and lasting peace so that fundamentalist movements such as Taliban and Al Qaeda should never again be able to gather strength in the tall mountains of Afghanistan.
But what has happened? “Horisont” has travelled in Afghanistan and followed the preparations for the important election on Sunday – the first in over 30 years – to find out if Afghanistan really IS on the road towards a peaceful and democratic future or if it is just about to slide back into violence and civil war.
Henrik Lerche/ Afghanistan
It is not just because of the dust that it is hard to see exactly where Afghanistan is going. This road connects the capitol of Kabul with the city of Kandahar nearly 400 kilometers further south. The road has just recently been asphalted which is a major improvement, but the biggest problem concerning the road has not yet been solved. The road through the province of Zabul is considered to be one of the most dangerous in the country due to the regular kidnappings and assaults – Our afghan military escort has prohibited us from stopping and filming in this area.
Mark Stammer/ US Army (ENG)
(18.19 - In keeping with our anticipation the enemy has and tried to increase their activities preceding the election. Both to gain a catastrophic victory to discredit the election, but also to gain a recruiting class for the madrasses over the wintertime.)
From official sources it has been said that more than 1100 sympathisers of the Taliban have been killed in the battles. Many Afghan governmental soldiers have been killed or wounded. And American troops have also suffered severe losses. Until now 77 men have been killed this year in Afghanistan which is much more than ever before.
Mark Stammer/ US Army (ENG)
19.39 - I believe we've had more casualties this year because we're in more places where we haven't been before. We've gone into the heart of the historic sanctuary of the taleban and we have stayed there. And we're gonna continue to stay there through the winter and into next spring as well.)
The director of the election operation in Afghanistan, the Dane Peter Erben, is on a courtesy visit at the governor of Zabul. The governor is the highest official authority in the province, but there is not much he can do to protect the election-workers. He knows perfectly well that it is the foreign coalition forces which are really making the election safe.
Just a single successful terror attack would be considered a victory the forces that does NOT want a democratic election in Afghanistan. There are a lot of those forces in the province of Zabuls biggest city Qalat. The city election-office has been transformed into almost a true desert fortress, which the employees do not dare to exit. They work, eat and sleep inside the walls – many of them have been here for several months.
Peter Erban / Valgchef (DAN)
The province of Zabul is relatively small concerning voters but the security problems are overwhelming - in this area there are still ongoing struggles with many of the Taliban forces and at the same time our staff has to go trough with the election while fights are raging in the districts. There is no doubt that many of the afghan we have hired, nearly 6000 district-officers, are ready to risk their lives to go through with the election. They live in a violent environment so they are kind of more used to the level of risk than we are. Is it possible to talk about a free and democratic election if it is necessary to gather up that much military power just to go through with it?
There are many levels of elections. A country that has just finished being in war has to start somewhere in building democracy and there is no doubt that this election does not meet the high and fine standards of western Europe. But the most important thing, in spite of the troubles in doing so, is that this election will result in a government elected by the people. If you had to wait with electing a government until everything was just peace - it would nearly be impossible to get democracy started in Afghanistan.
Some of the candidates for the parliament election have a past in the Taliban movement, i.e. some candidates are former ministers of the Taliban government. The Taliban candidates are running for office in Kandahar. With more than half a million citizens Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan. On several occasions it has been the capitol of Afghanistan, most recently under the regime of Taliban – and both the Taliban leader Mullah Omar as well as the Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden own beautiful villas in the city. Two of the most hunted terrorists, who in spite of 4 years intensive search, have not been found.
Henrik Lerche/ Kandahar
An old man offered us to show us around and tell us about the Taliban warriors, who is buried here – to him heroes and martyrs, who have given their life in the battle against the northern alliance.
Here lies a 26 year old Taliban general who fell in the Pansjher valley north of Kabul. His Brothers transported the corpse all the way back to Kandahar to give him the funeral of a hero.
[ Pause – music]
In a city where the fallen Taliban soldiers are still considered celebrated as heroes it is not surprising that the authorities are having troubles with the security. The election office in Kandahar still has to live with the continuing threats of attacks.
Andy Cambell/ Regional coordinator (ENG)
(Up here is where a UN-vehicle hit an IED (improvised explosive device) and was destroyed...)
Eight out of ten election-related killings have occurred in the Kandahar region. Four candidates and four election officials have been murdered. The map on Andy Campbells office also marks other violent actions – roadside bombings, kidnappings and assaults. At a certain point the supporters of two rivalling candidates were in direct battle with each other in the streets – and several nights before the election rocket were launched towards Kandahar from the nearby mountains. The local police officers asked us not to travel outside the city for our own safety.
Dr Abdullag (ENG)
(2.10.30 Taleban have certainly stepped up their effort, but - They are the enemies. they don't want to see - )
Four years have passed since the northern alliance and the American lead coalition beat up The Taliban warriors of Mullah Omar and then conquered Afghanistan. So how can they suddenly appear again? Shouldn’t they have been killed or send to Guantanamo Bay?
Probably, the truth is that they have been there all along. Many Taliban sympathisers were killed or imprisoned under the war, but most of them have just changed clothes and shifted sides while awaiting the situation. Security experts have estimated that more than half of the most religious citizens, deep inside, still sympathise with the Taliban movement.
Faizullah Zaki/ Kanditat (ENG) (They have not given up the idea of talebanism. Talebanism is the ideology of domination. Domination is not a way for settling the problems of Afghanistan.)
The Chief of the Danish NATO forces in Afghanistan lieutenant cornel Claus Dixen-Møller acknowledges that there is still not – four years after the end of the war –control of all of Afghanistan.
Claus Dixen-Møller/Oberstløjtnant, chef Dancon (DANISH)
There are certain security problems especially in the southern and south-eastern parts, where you do not have a complete overview of the hostile units - Taliban and Al-Qaeda. We are currently putting an effort to control it, but not as an occupational force. It is important to underline that it is to support the afghan and to support the legal government in office.
(PAUSE - de marcherer) One of the most important assignments for the afghan government is to establish a strong national army, so that in time the afghan people will be able to keep the country safe and secure. But the army has to be both large and powerful in order to be able to handle the threats of the many armed groups. The training is in action – here are the new recruits learning the march on command. But it is hard to concentrate and marching is not the only thing the afghan soldiers are finding difficult.
Tom Woldger/Kaptajn ISAF (DAN)
They are doing pretty well in the basics - now they are working together as units, which of course is starting out with working within squads, platoons - and now they are about to coordinate actions on the company-level. But there is no doubt that it is in working together between units they have there biggest problems.
It will take a long time before the goal – a well educated army of 40000 men – has been accomplished.
Tom Woldger/Kaptajn ISAF (DAN)
There have been some episodes where they have been put to the test of an ambush - but the reactions we have got have not been that suitable yet. They have been shooting in different directions in stead of waiting until the commands of the leaders so they can be sure that you shoot the right units. The common soldier is good enough - he wants to be a soldier - he is proud to be a soldier and it is an honour to his family that he is a soldier. So there is no doubt that with the right training you can build a really good army in Afghanistan.
Until then there is still the need of a big international force present in Afghanistan. At this point almost 20000 American soldiers are working together with afghan units and special-forces from other countries to continue the battle against Taliban and Al-Qaeda – the so called “Operation Enduring Freedom”. Meantime the 170 Danish soldiers is part of the international NATO ISAF force which counts approximately 10000 soldiers from 21 different nations.
Claus Dixen Moller (DAN)
We support the legal government in office, but we keep ourselves in the second row. One of the assignments is the training of the military and the police and in general put an effort in upholding security.
Here at one of the many checkpoints outside the city the governmental forces have stopped a minibus with 15 long-bearded elderly men which they want to investigate a little further. But - besides the traffic security – the men in the minibus are not endangering anyone so they are permitted to continue. Episodes likes this is mere routine. Generally it IS more secure to be in the capitol area than in the southern provinces – but even in Kabul there has been assaults before the election. The President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, acknowledges the necessity of foreign troop’s continuous presence in Afghanistan.
Hamid Karzai/Præsident, Afghanistan
If these forces were not here, if the coalition wasn't here....
...will there still be Danish, American and other foreign troops in Afghanistan in 5-10 years time?
In the northern part of Afghanistan, on the other side of the mountains and through the famous Saland tunnel, it is not the Taliban creating problems, but some of those who helped overthrow the Taliban regime -The so-called warlords. One of them is Muhammed Atta, who is today the governor of the Balkh-province in the north. He is also defending his old profession.
Muhammed Atta/Guvernør, Balkh-provinsen
(In Afghanistan we can't say only bad about the warlords. There are a lot of warlords who were real mujahedeen, who were fighting for the freedom of Afghanistan. I will not critizise them.)
Several of the soldiers whom we spoke to, afghan as well as international, are worried about the continuing power of the warlords.
Claus Dixen-Møller/Oberstløjtnant, chef Dancon (DAN)
I am certain that in the provinces some of them are still active. They are heavily armed even though there has been a strong demilitarization through the past years. Some of these groups, who supposedly also provide for themselves by criminal activities among others the production of opium, will be a threat up to the election, because they know that a stable Afghanistan is not good for business.
This is marihuana fields, not far from the governors resident in Mazar-e-Sharif. Earlier on there were fields of opium all the way to the edge of the road, but now they have discretely been moved further into the country and been replanted with marihuana. The difference is the same - both plants are illegal.
Hamid Karzai/Præsident, Afghanistan (ENG)
(The cultivation of poppies is a serious problem in Afghanistan. It hurts our dignity. It embarrasses us.)
The opium production is hard to stop – the peasants of Afghanistan need the money in order to survive, the warlords need the money to keep their power. From the governor in Mazar-e-Sharif we went further north.
Henrik Lerche/Sheberghan (DAN)
Sheberghan is a little dusty city in the far northern corner of Afghanistan. The biggest attraction in Sheberghan is not a mosque which it usually is in other cities, but instead a palace in the center of the city, which belongs to the famous and notorious warlord: General Dostum)
(We see General Dostum’s home)
General Dostum does not just own this luxurious palace – he has also got his
own political party, his own army and his own city.
-Hamidullah/Indbygger i Sheberghan (DARI)
A good man, a good man! He protects people, he takes care. He is our commander, our man, he's like a father to us. What more can I say?)
Muhammad Jakub/Indbygger i Sheberghan (DARI)
(General Dostum is a good man, he is a hero of Afghanistan. UD 34.15)
Amanullah/Indbygger i Sheberghan (DARI)
(If general Dostum was a candidate, we would vote for him.)
Sheberghan is the city of Dostum. He was one of the leading warlords of the northern alliance and played a key role in the victory over the Taliban-regime. After the war he kept a private army with thousands of soldiers, heavy weapons and tanks. We would like to have asked Dostum how many weapons and soldiers he has, but he would not speak to us.
Claus Dixen-Møller/Oberstløjtnant, chef Dancon (DANISH)
“There is no doubt that he has got dirt on his fingers and he is also one of the warlords that is still influential. Whether or not he gets power in the new government I do not know - but I will certainly have my doubts.”
Threatening warlords in the north – killings, shootings and disturbances in the south – and then there are all the other problems that follow 25 years of war. That is the picture of the Afghanistan, which is on the road to its first election in over 30 years. But the afghan people are tough and to them the election is a light in the dark. The enthusiasm is big. Kabul is almost in a flood of election posters and the numbers of candidates willing to loose their lives is record high – almost 6000.
Nasrullah/Vælger fra Karabaq (DARI)
“It will get better. Our country will quiet down, the deputies will be elected. The situation i regionen will improve.”
Allah-Ud-Din/Vælger fra Ghazni (DARI)
“Everything will be normal. Everything will be good to the benefit of our country and its people”
Ehsanullah/Politiofficer, Kabul (DARI)
“Inshallah, we shall be able to provide security for the people. We serve the people and they should not be afraid to vote. We will make our preparations for the elections.”
The majority of the voters do not know the candidates and will probably vote like as this camel-guy.
The international election-organisation has been doing a lot to learn the thousands of afghan how to technically follow through an election-process. There has to be taught 6000 election officials, so that they can educate even more people in the local areas.
Homejra Zamir/Valg-koordinator (DARI)
“It's the first time people try to elect representatives. We are gathering experience. We had a lot of difficulties last year and we will have again this time. But we want elections, we want our country to have a parlament like others.”
Even for a man like Peter Erben who has got the responsibility of many difficult elections around the world, the election-process in Afghanistan is a special challenge.
Peter Erben/Valgchef (DAN)
It is a country that has been in civil war in so many years that the country is just more or less falling apart. It has not got any infrastructure, there is not any roads, People have not been going to school, 80% of the population does not read - and then it is a country where there still is a lot of conflicts around especially the border areas, which is giving us a serious amount of security problems. So there is no doubt that Afghanistan has been a very special challenge to us.
Six candidates have been murdered in the days before the election. Out of 6000 it is not considered Afghan measures, but it still underlines that there IS a significant risk by going actively into politics in a country such as Afghanistan - Especially in the province.
Gulalai Habib/Kandidat, Kabul (DARI)
(In the majority of provinces it is still the power of the gun, power of the gunman, of the person with the weapon, so the danger still exists and there is a big threat for the women of Afghanistan....
...To accept democracy is very difficult. And those who see democracy as a threat to their interests, they will try to get rid of all those who want to build democracy, those who will create a new Afghanistan and who are willing to have a free A.)
Gulalai Habib is one of those who – despite the risk – are running for office at the parliament. She is a school teacher and has been an advocate for women’s rights – except for the years under the Taliban regime, where she, like many others, had to flee to Pakistan. She thinks it is hard to be a woman in Afghanistan.
Gulalai Habib/Kandidat, Kabul (DARI)
(In an islamic country (sunna country) where a woman is counted as a second grade person, where a woman has no right to divorce, in a country where the islamic rules (sunna rules) are still in power, where old laws are still in power - a woman naturally faces problems.)
27% of the seats in the parliament is reserved for the women – in an attempt to get rid of the old prejudice.
(The women of Afghanistan have lost the war, but they can win the election.)
And maybe the women are the future of Afghanistan – the men have definitely not done the job until now.
Hamid Karzai/Præsident, Afghanistan ( ENG)
(Our most serious problem is the lack strong government. In terms of its ability to deliver. Because we don't have sufficient manpower)
Hamid Karzai/Præsident, Afghanistan (ENG)
(The futur? Do you have How would you like Afghanistan to be? A prosperous nation)
Now the Afghan people have cast their ballot. Then comes the big practical job of gathering the ballots and counting them. The results will start to come in the next week, but not until the 22 of October is the final result expected with all the names of every member of the new afghan parliament.