Afghan women revolutionaries issue new communique

On December 10, Human Rights Day, the Revolutionary Association of the Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), issued a communique, excerpted below. RAWA, often said to be Afghanistan's oldest civil society group, was founded in the 1970's by Meena - a woman who was later assassinated. Their existence is by necessity clandestine, as they are staunch advocates not only for the rights of women, but of secularism, democracy and the rule of law. Videlicet:

... By relying on the criminal bands of the Northern Alliance, the US made a game of values like democracy, human rights, women’s rights etc... Now the US tries to include infamous killers like Mullah Omer and Gulbuddin Hekmatyar into the government, which will be another big hypocrisy in the “war against terror”.

... Our people, and even our unfortunate children, fall victim to the Jehadis’ infighting (Baghlan incident), the Taliban’s untargeted blasts and the US/NATO’s non-stop bombardments. The Northern Alliance blood-suckers, who are part of Karzai’s team and have key government posts, continue to be the main and the most serious obstacle towards the establishment of peace and democracy in Afghanistan.

... Only a president who rely on people and come to power through a fair election, free from any kind of dependence or dealings with the fundamentalists, would be ideal for Afghan people.

Instead of defeating Al-Qaeda, Taliban and Gulbuddini terrorists and disarming the Northern Alliance, the foreign troops are creating confusion among the people of the world. We believe that if these troops leave Afghanistan, our people will not feel any kind of vacuum but rather will become more free and come out of their current puzzlement and doubts. In such a situation, they will face the Taliban and Northern Alliance without their “national” mask, and rise to fight with these terrorist enemies. ... (link)