Delegates at the Kabul jirga, Image courtesy: abdulhadihairan.com
On June 2-4, 2010, the government of Afghan President Hamid Karzai organized a National Consultative Peace Jirga in Kabul in order to find a way for ending the Taliban-led militancy in Afghanistan. Over 1,200 community leaders from across Afghanistan, as well as different personalities sympathetic to the Taliban, attended the peace conference.
At the end of the three days of talks, the delegates – mostly tribal elders and religious leaders – voted in favor of the Karzai government's proposal to open peace talks with armed opposition groups and the Taliban militants who could be willing to lay down arms and accept the Afghan constitution.[1]
The delegates adopted a declaration, which among other points, stressed: "The efforts for peace should not harm the current system's achievements and their legal status in such a way that lead to a new conflict in the country.'" It also condemned Israel for the recent commando action on the Gaza flotilla.
Following is a translation of the final declaration, as published by the Afghan website abdulhadihairan.com:[2]
"This Invitation [for Peace Talks] is for Afghans and does Not Include Foreign Extremists and International Terrorist Networks"
"1: We, participants of the National Consultative Peace Jirga, invite all the conflicting parties to respect the holy religion of Islam and the Afghan people's wishes by saying goodbye to war and killing of their own people, and adopt a way toward peace. This invitation is for Afghans and does not include foreign extremists and international terrorist networks.
"2: To initiate a peace process, in accordance with the decisions from this jirga, the government should establish a holistic program and announce that program as the permanent national strategy for peace.
"3: The efforts for peace should not harm the current system's achievements and their legal status in such a way that lead to a new conflict in the country.
"4: For a sustainable peace, complete support and true commitments from all sides are crucial. We, the participants, seriously hope that the voice of the people and the jirga will be respected and the decisions of this jirga be implemented. Otherwise, the historical values of the jirga will be harmed.
"5: We urge all the conflicting parties to give up their preconditions that hinder the peace talks.
"6: All the important parties should make it their priority to prevent efforts that harm the national unity by inflaming tribal, regional, ethnic, religious, and political issues.
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"7: Increasing investment for economic growth, improving human resources in order to increase jobs, reducing poverty, and developing capacity in general Islamic teachings should be among the top programs of the government.
"8: We urge the Afghan government and the international forces in Afghanistan to take a serious and immediate step toward releasing those prisoners arrested on false reports or not charged as goodwill gesture. In developing an understanding with the international community, the government should act fast in removing the insurgents' names from the blacklists. The government and the international forces should provide guarantee for the protection and security of those who are joining the peace process and help them to safely reintegrate in the society. The Afghan and international forces are seriously asked to stop unnecessary arrests, arbitrary and uncoordinated house searches, and the air strikes that cause civilian casualties. The government should seriously take steps for leading the military operations and coordinate with the international forces.
"The armed insurgents should give up violence and stop all the activities that lead to the killing of our dear countrymen and the damaging of its infrastructure, and cut their ties with Al-Qaeda and the regional terrorist networks. The international community is requested to take serious steps for equipping, training, and strengthening the Afghan National Security Forces in order to enable them to take on the responsibility of the country's security and protecting the people. We would like long term international commitments to protect Afghanistan from becoming a playground of regional conflicts, so the foreign infiltrations are blocked and the regional cooperation is coordinated.
"We urge the international community to fully support the peace process led by the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
"The government, with cooperation from the people, should act for improving governance and professionalism, fight against corruption, and act against people who have seized lands in the capital as well as in the provinces.
"These steps are vital for developing people's trust in the government and making the peace process a success.
"The people of Afghanistan are seeking a rightful peace, in which the rights of all the citizens, including women and children, are protected, and want the laws to be enforced equitably to ensure social justice."
"We, Participants of the Jirga, Request All the Religious People, to Join Hands with the Government in Order to End the Current Insecurity and Make This Process a Success"
"9: We, participants of this jirga, request the ulema [religious clerics], and electronic, print, and online media to take it as their responsibility to use mosques and mass media to promote peace and reduce violence.
"10: We, participants of the jirga, request all the religious people, to join hands with the government in order to end the current insecurity and make this process a success.
"The government should take all necessary security measures to foil the criminal terrorist activities.
"11: To continue work on this peace process and implement the recommendations of the jirga, an independent commission or a high council for peace should be formed with branches in the provinces.
"This should be comprised of sincere brothers and sisters, the ulema, tribal elders, one representative from the Parliament and one from the Senate and those insurgents who have renounced violence.
"The council should form a special committee to have access to the prisoners, release them, and reintegrate them into the society.
"12: We, participants of the National Consultative Peace Jirga, promise that we will return to our home provinces with the message of peace from the jirga. We will take it as our national and religious responsibility to spread this message in cooperation with the local institutes, the ulema, the tribal elders, youth, and women.
"13: The Afghan government is required to include this declaration in the [upcoming] Kabul Conference in order to get international support for it.
"14: The government should keep the people continuously informed about any mechanism that is being developed for the peace program.
"15: The recommendations from the 28 jirga committees are enclosed with this declaration in order to be followed in making a national peace process.
"16: At the end, the National Consultative Peace Jirga, as a representative of the Afghan people, strongly condemns the inhumane attack by Israeli army carried out on the convoy of aid groups that was on its way to Gaza [and West] Bank where poor Palestinians are besieged.
"The United Nations and the international community is urged to end the brutal siege of Gaza."
Endnotes:
[1] Daily Times, Pakistan, June 5, 2010.
[2] www.abdulhadihairan.com, Afghanistan, June 4, 2010.
