Article

2006-11-05 Afghanistan

Afghan politician flays U.S., Britain roles in Afghanistan

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Posted by Fred 2006-11-05 00:00|| || Front Page|| [2 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 Abdul Latif Padram

Doesn't sound like a traditional French name, but he's got the act down. Could've recently returned from Paris after losing his automobile. You know that faulty ignition system that resulted in that terrible fire.

Posted by Procopius2K 2006-11-05 09:29|| 2006-11-05 09:29|| Front Page Top

#2 Interesting that if the Pakistani proxies retook Afghanistan, Pedram would be the second to swing on the gallows after Karzai. Perhaps ISAF should lighten their presence around Kabul.
PBS Frontline
A few months before the elections, Pedram -- a left-leaning intellectual and writer -- returned from five years of exile in France to campaign for president along with 17 other candidates, ranging from warlords and former Mujahidin leaders to medical doctors and professors like himself. Pedram, 42, stood out from the pack because of his strong academic background and secular ideas. During the campaign, he emerged as a controversial figure in the press and political circles for campaigning for women's personal rights, a taboo subject in Afghan culture.
...
Pedram, who belongs to the ethnic minority Tajiks, has a mixed political background. During the '80s, he was a Communist party member and newspaper editor, but like many intellectuals, he was jailed for criticizing the regime. When the Taliban took control of Kabul, Pedram fled north to the base of Ahmad Shah Masood, the late anti-Soviet resistance fighter, who controlled parts of northern Afghanistan.

Throughout the 2004 elections, several candidates, expecting to lose, were reportedly cutting backroom deals with Karzai for a share of power in a future cabinet. Pedram said he was not among them. In our interview, he called Karzai an "American puppet" and said he opposed permanent American military bases in Afghanistan. "There are reports about abuse at American detention centers around the country, but Karzai doesn't say anything about them," Pedram said. "An Afghan citizen should stand for the independence and sovereignty of his country, but Karzai's policies have been anti-national."

Pedram advocates an independent, but decentralized Afghanistan. He believes the country should be divided into autonomous regions under the control of regional capitals. Federalism, a recurring subject of debate among Afghanistan scholars and some politicians, is not popular with the country's ethnic majority Pashtun and other Afghans, who view it as a threat to national unity. But Pedram and his party plan to push for federalism -- and women's rights -- if they make it to Parliament.

Posted by ed 2006-11-05 10:42|| 2006-11-05 10:42|| Front Page Top

#3 National Congress Party of Afghanistan (Hizb-e Kongra-ye Melli-ye Afghanistan)

Party Leader: Abdul Latif Pedram
Description: This liberal, secular party was formed in 2004. Led by a controversial figure and strident critic of Hamid Karzai's government, the National Congress Party could serve as a vocal opposition within the National Assembly. The party is headed by former presidential candidate Pedram, who garnered 1.4 percent of the vote in 2004. The National Congress Party's power base lies primarily among non-Pashtun, leftist intellectuals. Its strength has been limited to the northeast of the country, however. Pedram has been a vocal proponent of federalism and has at times allied himself unofficially with Abdul Rashid Dostum's National Islamic Movement (known as "Junbish," see No. 54). Just one month ahead of the October 2004 presidential vote, the head of the Afghan Supreme Court accused Pedram of making "anti-Islamic" statements regarding women and unsuccessfully requested his removal from the ballot.

Posted by ed 2006-11-05 10:48|| 2006-11-05 10:48|| Front Page Top

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