HDP: People in Afghanistan are sacrificed to the interests of politics

The co-spokespersons of the HDP’s Foreign Policy Commission, Feleknas Uca and Hişyar Özsoy, criticized the Afghanistan policy and warned against Turkey’s policy of interests in the region. The statement published by Uca and Özsoy on Tuesday said, “The U.S. and Britain started the occupation in 2001 under the slogan, ‘We will liberate Afghanistan.’ Now the occupation is ending, leaving behind more than 50,000 dead and a completely destroyed society. The Taliban entered Kabul and declared that the war is over.

While the U.S. defeat represents a major victory for the Taliban, a chaotic time and new atrocities await the people of Afghanistan. As the U.S. withdraws from the scene, the Taliban’s repressive regime is openly announcing itself. Afghanistan’s neighbors, China, Iran, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, as well as states like Russia and India that do not border Afghanistan but have significant interests there, are repositioning themselves to protect their interests. Even the Turkish government, thousands of miles away, is navigating the dangerous waters to gain a foothold in Afghanistan. It looks like Afghanistan will become the theater for hegemonic struggles in the future. In Afghanistan, the demands of women, minorities and human rights activists, those who want democracy, freedom and justice, are once again being sacrificed to the interests of realpolitik. In the U.S., which has now ended what it began 20 years ago as Operation Enduring Freedom, even the “white feminists” who supported the occupation no longer speak of saving Afghan women.

The U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan is of great interest to Turkey. The military presence of NATO member Turkey in Afghanistan and, in particular, the issue of Afghans who have sought refuge in Turkey over the past two years, are important issues.

President Erdoğan wanted to play a central role by negotiating with the U.S. over Kabul airport security. After the Taliban announced that those who came with NATO should leave with NATO, and they would consider Turkey an ‘invader,’ Erdoğan stated that there was no contradiction between the Taliban’s religious beliefs and his, and they would soon recognize the Taliban leadership. Most recently, a Taliban spokesman stated that they considered Turkey an ally, not an enemy. It is understood that relations between Turkey and the Taliban are structured on the basis of power interests. As for Afghans who have fled the war and come to Turkey, no one knows what the government will do. The Turkish government will probably use Afghan refugees, in addition to the refugees from Syria, as leverage against the EU. Angela Merkel has already expressed her desire to work with Turkey on Afghanistan anyway.

It is unrealistic to expect the AKP/MHP government, which has exacerbated conflicts from Libya to Afghanistan with its militaristic policies and attempts to turn political crises into opportunities, to address the problems in these regions on the basis of universal humanitarian values. In a few months, the government will present its motion on foreign deployments in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, and Libya to Parliament. We hope that the opposition parties in parliament will oppose these war powers and side with peaceful policies.

As the HDP, we believe that political crises from Libya to Syria to Afghanistan can and must be solved without wars and death. Only the people of Afghanistan can solve the political problems in Afghanistan. The consequences of military interventions from abroad are obvious. What the people of Afghanistan need is not weapons, but the establishment of a political system in which they can live in peace and tranquility. We call on the international community to play a constructive role in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and not to leave those fighting for democracy alone. We salute the Afghan people who have suffered greatly over the past 40 years and express our solidarity with Afghan women who have not given up their struggles even in the darkest of times.”