Hypocrisy… – Article by Eleni Mavrou, AKEL Political Bureau member
Sunday, 22nd August 2021, ‘Haravgi’ newspaper
Afghanistan is no longer a problem for the West. It’s up to the Afghans to sort it out among themselves. “They have to fight for themselves, fight for their nation,” Biden said.
Hypocrisy…
Twenty years ago, it was the job of the US and its allies to put the bloodthirsty Taliban in order. Twenty years ago, it was the job of the US to bring democracy to this remote Central Asian country. Twenty years ago, it was the job of the United States to bring the women of this country out of the darkness of the burqa.
The pipelines, the oil fields and geostrategic interests were the real reason and curse.
All the lofty proclamations were not just empty rhetoric. They were the pretext for an intervention that would cost many lives, many tears and much money.
And the tragedy is that those who believed the hollow words of the Americans, especially the girls and women who believed in a future outside permanent confinement in their homes, have now been left defenseless at the mercy of a ruthless enemy.
The Taliban negotiating team in Doha may have declared in no uncertain terms that no severe restrictions would be imposed on women, but that does not mean that the Taliban have suddenly become liberal, democrats and feminists. They may have invited women to join the government, but who believes them?
Hypocrisy…
Just remember what Eduardo Galeano wrote in his book about the high-ranking Taliban religious leader who testified in 1981 at the Stockholm International Court of Justice against the Soviets and the government of Afghanistan: “Our girls were dishonored by the communists! They taught them to read and write”.
Afghan women who had hoped that they could have – like millions of others – the right to education, work and basic human rights, have been left alone, fearing for their future, for their very lives.
For twenty years the US were funding warlords and corrupt politicians and training armies instead of giving the Afghan people the chance to build a peaceful future. Now that it is too late, the whole of humanity has watched the triumphant return of the Taliban in shock.
Hypocrisy…
The crocodile tears shed for the Afghan people quickly dried up. Neighbouring countries and Europe are now concerned about how to prevent new flows of refugees and migrants into their own countries. How to prevent Afghans, fleeing a devastated country abandoned by the West, from knocking on their doors in the coming months and years seeking refuge. They are already declaring themselves ready to build bridges with the Taliban regime, characterising “openings” to the Taliban as “pragmatism”.
The hypocrisy shown and crocodile tears being shed over the chaos in Kabul cannot hide the enormous responsibility of those responsible for what has been happening in the country for decades.
The issue is not whether the Taliban have defeated the Americans. The issue is that humanity has lost. And the people, especially the women of Afghanistan, will suffer for the geopolitical games of the Americans and will continue to do so for a long time to come.
