Afghanistan: Trouble on the farm

Asia Times

By Aunohita Mojumdar KABUL -
Former Afghan warlords and commanders are becoming increasingly adept at fighting their battles in Parliament, with the latest example of their muscle-flexing coming on Monday when firebrand female parliamentarian Malalai Joya was suspended from the Lower House. Joya had compared her fellow, overwhelmingly male, colleagues to farmyard animals. The incident underlines a growing conflict of interests among Parliament, the government and the international community. The contradiction first came to light during the infamous "amnesty
vote" in February when members tried to give themselves immunity from prosecution for any crimes committed during the past 25 years of war. Former communists, mujahideen and Taliban united on this issue. The international community expressed concern over this apparent subversion of the process of transitional justice, resulting in a fierce war of words. The standoff was resolved after President Hamid Karzai signed off on a law that seemed to include a clause to satisfy every need. One clause, Article 3, grants immunity from prosecution, while another clause gives individuals the right to pursue justice over individual crimes. At best the law can be termed ambiguous, a factor that is likely to favor the status quo rather than any pursuit of prosecution of war crimes. However, the United Nations' top representative in the country, Tom Koenigs, claims the law has strengthened the rights of the individual, adding that he has been assured by Karzai that the law does not preempt the state's right to prosecute. Since then, the issue of the extent of Parliament's power and its possible misuse has only grown more acute. Having installed a Parliament in a tearing hurry in 2005, both the government and the international community are now faced with considerable challenges as Parliament comes up with laws and decisions that would be considered incongruous in a liberal democratic framework. Both the US-backed government in Kabul and the international community pushed for the formation of Parliament in 2005 even though few of the conditions that had led to the postponement of elections in 2004 had changed. Elections took place in an environment vitiated by the failure of the disarmament process. The multi-seat single non-transferable vote system used in the elections beggared belief, as did the ban on political parties from contesting in the elections. The situation was compounded by an evidently faulty vetting process. The composition of Parliament therefore falls short of what its backers would have liked. The House of Representatives (Wolesi Jirga - Lower House) is dominated by a minority comprising former commanders and warlords and those who have other sources of wealth and power. This group is taking advantage to push its agenda, helped by a power vacuum in the country created by Karzai's lack of writ beyond the capital, the absence of political parties, and the lack of established parliamentary procedures. This month, the Meshrano Jirga, or Upper House, passed a bill calling for talks with indigenous Taliban, a cessation of operations by international troops, a date for their withdrawal, and the request that these troops operate only when necessary and with the approval of the government. But whether the Upper House can initiate a bill is still to be clarified. If it can, it could render anti-insurgency operations untenable, requiring a complete rewiring of the military strategy of the foreign forces as well as the chain of command. The international community, especially the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and the US-led coalition forces, are counting on Karzai to bail them out. The president's assent is required on all laws passed by Parliament, though his power of veto is limited. If Parliament disagrees with him, it can overrule the president with a two-thirds majority, something that obviously tempers the president's willingness or ability to counter some of the illiberal moves. There was considerable international dismay this month over the "dismissal" of two ministers - the minister of refugees and the minister of foreign affairs, apparently on the grounds of their failure to deal with the problem of returnees and refugees being pushed out by Iran and Pakistan. While Karzai challenged the procedure of a no-confidence vote against Foreign Minister Rangin Dadfar Spanta, (while accepting the no-confidence move against Minister of Refugees Mohammed Akbar), the UN questioned Parliament's authority to dismiss the ministers altogether. It said the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan's view "is that the constitution provides for votes of censure of confidence in ministers, but does not expressly give Parliament the right to dismiss ministers". A senior parliamentary official, however, reacted to this statement with anger, saying such observations on the part of the UN amounted to "interference in the country's internal affairs". The official cited Article 92 of the constitution, which allows a vote of no confidence to be passed against any minister by a simple majority of the House. "No confidence means removal of the minister," he insisted. In this case the UN did attempt to interpret the constitution, despite saying that this was the prerogative of the Supreme Court, to which Karzai has referred the issue. A number of countries take particular interest in Afghanistan because they are helping pay for its reconstruction, whether it is physical infrastructure or the institutions of state, such as law and justice and their delivery mechanisms. There is, though, a fine line between aid and interference. Countries are also selective about when they pitch in. They are assertive on issues relating to the rule of law and almost the sole decision-makers in terms of military operations. However, they are quite happy to pipe down on issues relating to gender on the grounds that they do not want to interfere with the cultural traditions of the country. Long before the amnesty bill, parliamentarians attempted to pass laws that would lower the age of consent of girls to 13 years and make it mandatory for all female parliamentarians to be "escorted" by mehrams (male family members) while traveling both within and outside Afghanistan. There was also a concerted bid to abolish the Ministry of Women's Affairs, on the grounds that it had not achieved anything concrete, notwithstanding that it had been deliberately kept weak by making it a policymaking body without any implementing powers. No one is convinced that these moves have seen their last. Harsh words Malalai Joya, 29, who is from Farah province, angered her colleagues when she spoke in a television interview of the "farmyard" nature of Parliament. She added that at least cows were useful as they provided milk. Joya has been a consistent critic of warlords and those accused of war crimes being allowed in Parliament. In 2004, when she challenged their presence in the council established to write a constitution, she received death threats - she now has around-the-clock security. Her outspoken speeches have made her a target for verbal abuse, even while her courage and work for the destitute and women in general have made her extremely popular in her own constituency. She was returned to Parliament with one of the highest numbers of votes, competing against men on her own right rather than entering Parliament as a beneficiary of the reserved seats for women. Joya's outspokenness brought her into Parliament, the same trait that now seems to have had her removed from the House. In the broader picture, if Parliament continues to assert its supremacy at the behest of the "warlord clique", the country could face a political "insurgency" to go with the military one led by the Taliban.

Aunohita Mojumdar is an Indian journalist who is currently based in Kabul. She has reported on the South Asian region for 16 years and has covered the Kashmir conflict and post-conflict situation in Punjab extensively. (Copyright 2007 Asia Times Online Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact us about sales, syndication and republishing.)