By: Sadaqat Ali
Every nation in the world celebrates the people who have contributed constructively to their respective countries. This contribution can be in the fields of education, science, literature, peace, economy or any other field of life that is of benefit to the citizens of the country. These celebrated people are often called the Heroes of Nation.
As should naturally be the case, Afghanistan too has many heroes who have contributed to different fields of life. However, after the collapse of the Taiban regime and the dominance of the ex-Northern Alliance particularly the Shura-e-Nazar elements in Afghanistan, the interpretation of heroism changed. Instead of celebrating the peacemakers, they imposed the celebration of a warmonger ‘Ahmad Shah Massoud’; the reason being these elements themselves are warmongers. They see their existence and power in violence and chaos.
Ahmad Shah Massoud, a criminal and traitor.
To try and write about what Masoud did and did not do would be an exercise of re-inventing the wheel because enough have been written and said about his actions. But here a little reminder is important to satisfy the objective of this article. Masoud is known to have fought against the invading Soviet (Russian) army and against the Taliban. His fight against the Russians is highly questionable given the protocols he signed with the Russians. In fact he played in the hands of the Russians. Massoud mostly fought against other Afghan Mujahideen/militant groups who were fighting against the Soviet Russian army. The purpose of his fight against the Mujahideen was reaching to power; the net result of these clashes was the destruction of Kabul. This destruction was not limited to the physical demolishing of the buildings and it rather involved the killings and suffering of people at a large scale. In terms of Massoud’s personality, perhaps Bruce Richardson has served this purpose (http://www.larawbar.net/32493.html)
Instead of condemning the violent actions of Ahmad Shah Massoud and of his followers today his martyrdom day is commemorated by the Afghan government in Afghanistan. Using the wealth and power accumulated through the means of violence, today his militiamen are trying to project him in a way that overshadows all the genuine heroes of Afghanistan.
Thugs of Shorae Nizar 'commemorating' Massoud's death anniversary.
Though the Massoud day is commemorated by a bunch of thugs in the Afghan government and some outside of the government, it has detrimental impact on the minds of the new generation. Because the pro-Masoud thugs have a great deal of control over both state and private media in Afghanistan; by justifying Massoud as the national hero they indoctrinate violence in the minds of the new generation of Afghans. This is because the new generation gets the sense that only by committing violence, using bullets and guns and private militia, can one become a national hero.
The problem is; there are many more warlords and warmongers in Afghanistan who once dead will possibly be commemorated as the heroes by their remnants. Then their successors will use the title of these dead warlords to remain the elites of the country which gives the wrong message to the new generations of Afghans.
To conclude, Masoud’s way of life and message was violence and not peace; something justified by his actions. Therefore calling him or any other warlord a national hero indoctrinates violence in the minds of the new generations because it gives them a sense that anyone who uses violence, like Masoud, will remain a hero in the history. Hence there is a need to educate our children by giving them the right information by teaching them that a warmonger cannot be called a peacemaker or a national hero.
References:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKZCKzaXFG8
http://www.larawbar.net/32493.html
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