The National Congress of Afghanistan
Kongerey-e Melli Afghanestan

Kabul, 22, September 2007

 

NO MORE WAR!
NO TO SECRET TALKS WITH THE TALIBAN!
NO TO A TALIBAN ALTERNATIVE!
AFGHANISTAN'S DISINTERGRATION!

YES TO FEDERALISM IN AFGHANISTAN  
(The only Viable, Democratic and Just Solution for the Present Crisis)
YES TO TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

Five years after the fall of the Taliban, the International community and the Military bodies present in Afghanistan as well as the regime in Kabul have to face the reality that they have failed the Afghan people.

There is no Military solution for the Afghan crisis as all foreign troops are historically seen as occupying forces.

We are well aware that secret negotiations with the Taliban have been on-going. Different scenarios have been put forward: either surrendering to the Taliban or continuing to wage war. To accept the Taliban as an alternative for the entire country would be equivalent to a catastrophe and encounter armed resistance. However they cannot be simply wiped off. If the Taliban are to be recognized as a viable group in their natural regions, this could only be possible in an organized system allowing for other regions of the country to develop at their own pace i.e. a federalist system (as in the two neighbouring countries of Pakistan and India). 

The National Congress of Afghanistan has played a leading role in promoting the following principles in order to put an end to the cycle of violence in Afghanistan and in proposing democratic and just solutions to the ethnic and regionalist crises in the country:

.   Democratization of governance and greater regional autonomy through greater participation of regions and provinces under a Federalist system;

.    Official and immediate recognition of the Durand Line by Afghanistan;

.    Instauration of a fully independent, sovereign and self-determining State;

.   An immediate end to bombings and killings of civilians throughout the country through open, transparent, accountable and constructive negotiations with all rebel forces including the Taliban by the Afghanistan people and their representatives

.    Total disarmament and demobilization at the national level including ALL armed groups;

.    Instauration of a mixed economy: a welfare state rendering social services such as free access to health and education for a population having undergone three decades of war;

.    Combating illiteracy as one of the major priorities of all government action through national mobilization;

.    Active promotion of women's rights and long-term commitment towards gender equality in law and in all spheres of political, economic, social and family life;

.    Promotion of Transitional Justice through greater participation of citizens in seeking truth and justice by the creation of impartial and unanimously respected truth commissions throughout the country and detailed documentation of past crimes;

.   Restriction on uncontrolled privatization and in parallel organized promotion of the private sector in creating large-scale employment opportunities in order to alleviate  poverty;

.    Positioning Afghanistan as a non-aligned, independent and non-violent state;

.   Instituting good-neighborly relations with all countries of the region by ensuring that Afghanistan does not become a base for military aggression and danger for these countries;

.  Combating opium cultivation, production and trafficking by building capacity and making available sustainable subsidies for the agriculture sector;

.     Combating corruption at all levels of the administrations;

.    Development of strong regional and para-regional economic and political relations especially with the European Union and existing regional cooperation mechanisms.

Background

Founded in 2001, the National Congress of Afghanistan (Kongerey-e Melli Afghanestan)

is a registered democratic and national party. The party has a strong middle-class, educated and intellectual popular backing throughout the country. The party participated in the presidential elections and named Latif Pedram, a well-known writer and intellectual as its candidate. Despite major discrepancies during the electoral process the candidate occupied the fifth position among the other 18 presidential candidates. The National Congress has representatives in all 34 provinces of the country and in major European capitals.

The National Congress of Afghanistan

No. 195, Komissariat Nahiya 6, Karte-Seh, Kabul, Afghanistan

Tel. +93 700 180 902 or +93 799 56 62 33

E-mail: nationalcongressafghanistan@gmail.com