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Democracy is a great asset. In good hands, it provides for trust between the government
and the governed. It can solve huge social problems faced by the people, by and
with the help of the people themselves. The people who nurture it over time and
raise it from its infancy to maturity, however, usually create democracy. In some
societies where the rulers or centers of power handed over democracy to the people,
it has not worked properly as the people have not been involved in its making.
In Afghanistan, especially after a tyrannical rule of the Taleban, democracy is
craved for. Notwithstanding the fact that it was the might of the world's only
superpower that brought down the cruel and dark regime of the Taleban, they look
forward to processes that would lead them to a truly democratic society. However,
democracy may not prove friendly to certain groups who either wield power or ride
on exploiting social and cultural values. Take the warlords for one example and
the clergy for another. The warlords see in a true democracy a shift of their
power to the people. Do they like to give the power that their guns, rocket launchers
and tanks and a variety of arms have provided them with? The warlords today, are
acting as the lords of the society; they share the fruits of the peoples' hard
work, they share their harvests and rule over them with impunity. The clergy on
the other hand, have historically lived off the working farmers and craftsmen.
They have used fear as an effective weapon in ruling over the masses. One of the
greatest fear tactics used by them is the threat of proclamation of blasphemy
upon individuals and groups.
Under Karzai's transitional administration, both the clergy and the executive effectively killed the “Sun.” The Sun was a private paper that reportedly ran articles that were not liked by the religious elite in power. The same elite, however, has the power of the judiciary as well. The executive, that had promised freedom of the press not only did not support the promised freedom, but also, apparently, supported restrictions on the press. Whether the articles were really blasphemous remains to be judged by an impartial court of law, but the fact remains that the “Sun,” was killed in an era in Afghanistan when printed press could play the greatest role in propagation of democracy. Recently, the transitional government “cancelled”, the word they used for closing down another popular public sector paper, the “National Aspiration”. Mubarez who serves the transitional government in the capacity of deputy minister of information said the government did not need to run the newspaper, as there are many other papers that serve the country's needs. However, the circulation of the National Aspiration was higher than the second popular government run paper “Anis.” He said that the government was short of funds. However, the same government has been able to pay the salaries of the judges that ban papers. Not only that, the same government is able to get subsidies to the salaries of the same judges from the United States, but it fails to support a paper that can play a great role in enlightening the masses regarding democracy and democratic process. So, unfortunately at this vital period in the history of Afghanistan, the transitional
government has given the dubious distinction to Afghanistan as a land where
they kill the “Sun”, the source of enlightenment and where they cancel
the “National Aspiration!” Karzai's transitional administration needs
to befriend the media and use it to educate the public on issues related to
democracy and democratic process. He also needs to le the people know about
his own objectives and ideals for a democratic Afghanistan especially when he
expects the public to vote him in as the country's first president in a permanent
democratic government in Afghanistan in June next year. He has to find a balance
between bowing to extremist demands on his government and the need for supporting
of democracy.10/19/03 |