Tajik Opposition Leader Raises His Voice for Freedom from the “Freedom Cemetery”!
Author: Rustam Rushangar, Analyst, especially for “Sangar”
In the photo: Some believe that Gadoev met with Taliban leader Mullah Haibatullah, which is probably a joke.
One of the interesting events that has received little attention was the presence in Kabul of Sharafuddin Gadoev, the head of the Movement for Reforms and Development of Tajikistan and one of the political leaders opposing the government of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon.
According to a statement released by the Movement for Reforms and Development of Tajikistan, Gadoev’s visit to Kabul is “part of efforts to strengthen regional security, expand cooperation with civil society and counter the threat of extremism.”
The political figure, who opposes the Tajik government, is said to have come to Kabul at the invitation of Fazlrahman Urya, the head of the Sahar Dialogue Center.
Fazlrahman Urya was previously considered a close associate of Dr. Abdullah Abdullah and is currently engaged in secret political activities in Kabul. Informed sources claim that Urya has secret ties to the Taliban and has been carrying out certain political activities with the permission and direction of the group.
The Movement for Reform and Development of Tajikistan stated that the purpose of the visit of the head of the movement, Sharafuddin Gadoev, and the accompanying delegation to Kabul is “to create joint mechanisms to strengthen stability, develop constructive interaction with civil society organizations, and promote direct and meaningful dialogue between the civil societies of Tajikistan and Afghanistan to strengthen the fraternal relations between the peoples of the two countries.” A press release following Sharafuddin Gadoev’s visit to Kabul stated: “The Movement for Reform and Development of Tajikistan expresses deep concern about the terrorist threat posed by the Islamic State of Khorasan (ISIS), the activation of which poses a danger to both the countries of Central Asia and the international community as a whole.”
Gadoev expressed concern about the “significant” growth of influence among the citizens of Tajikistan. He cited the policies of the Tajik government as a factor in the strengthening of ISIS.
He added: “Our efforts are aimed at creating conditions for peaceful coexistence, the free exchange of ideas, jointly combating the challenges of our time, and building a just future. We are convinced that only through unity, mutual understanding, and joint work can we effectively counter radicalization, strengthen peace, and restore hope to millions of people in our common region.”
There are several points to consider about Gadoev's trip to Taliban-controlled Kabul.
Point one: Taliban gives green light to opponents of the Tajik government
There is no doubt that Gadoev's trip to Kabul took place not only with the permission and instructions of the Taliban but even on the direct order and leadership of this group. Because in Afghanistan, there is not a single independent political and civil institution that would engage in free and independent political and civil activity and would be protected from the influence and impact of the Taliban. The Taliban have declared all civil and political institutions illegal and take a tough and decisive stance against any political and civil activity outside the framework of the Taliban group. Given this point, it becomes clear that the Sahar Dialogue Center, which Uryakhel heads, is also a division of the Taliban's secret and intelligence agencies. In fact, the Sahar Dialogue Center received an order from the Taliban to invite political opponents of the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rahmon, to Kabul.
Secondly, the Taliban's motivation to invite opponents of the Tajik government
The Taliban’s motives for inviting Emomali Rahmon’s political opponents are also clear. The Tajik president has been fighting the Taliban for four years now. Rahmon, in his support for the Taliban’s armed opposition, has made it clear that the Taliban’s rule in Kabul is illegitimate and that its legitimacy is dependent on the formation of an inclusive government with the participation of all ethnic groups, including Afghan Tajiks. In fact, Emomali Rahmon chose to stand with his Tajik brothers in Afghanistan under these difficult circumstances and not to accept the absolute rule of the Pashtuns, which has expelled Tajiks from all political, administrative, and state structures.
Another reason that has forced Emomali Rahmon to confront the Taliban is the terrorist nature of the Taliban. Rahmon has repeatedly stated that with the return of the Taliban to power, the risk of terrorism spreading from Afghanistan has increased, and the Taliban is actually supporting terrorist groups that threaten Central Asia. It should be said that the reasons and motives of the President of Tajikistan for not cooperating with the Taliban are correct and legitimate. There is no point for the government of Tajikistan to cooperate with an anti-Tajik and terrorist government in its neighborhood.
In fact, the Taliban decided to take action in response to Tajikistan's confrontational policy towards the group. That is, to support and caress the opponents of the Tajik government. This is a very blatant violation that goes beyond the support that the government of Tajikistan provides to the opponents of the Taliban. Despite the support, Tajikistan has always asked opponents of the group not to appear in the media and not to raise their voices against the Taliban from Tajikistan. However, the Taliban went further in their actions against Tajikistan by inviting political opponents of the Tajik government to appear on television in Kabul and openly criticize the domestic policies of Emomali Rahmon.
The third point is the naivety or ignorance of the head of the Movement for Reforms and Development of Tajikistan
There is no doubt that the Taliban openly deny civil society, civil activity, freedom, democracy, civil rights, human rights, democratic reforms, and modern political values and phenomena, and are enemies of these values. The Taliban's opposition to these values is obvious. The Taliban, as a terrorist group collaborating with international terrorism, returned to power after 20 years of killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people as a result of a complex plot with the help of terrible intelligence networks. Having returned to power, the group destroyed all the democratic achievements of Afghan society and threw the country back fifty years.
However, the head of the Movement for Reforms and Development of Tajikistan in Kabul talks about strengthening civil society relations, democratic reforms, and protecting human rights and civil liberties in Tajikistan. This is very strange and funny for those who know a little about the situation in Afghanistan and a little about the Taliban.
Therefore, it is fair to say that if Gadoev does not know the Taliban and Afghanistan, his authority as a leader of an opposition political movement in Tajikistan will automatically be zero. How can a person so ignorant lead a political opposition to the government? This is an important question. Today, even children in Afghanistan know how much the Taliban is an enemy of freedom, civil and democratic rights, and values. So, how can a political leader claim to be a leader if he does not know this? Awareness of the situation in the country and its surroundings is one of the main components of leadership of political movements.
Fourth, the role of the mysterious Western intelligences behind this scenario.
Given the obvious position of the Taliban against civil values and the strange statements of the leader of the political opposition to the Tajik government, another point that certainly affects the human mind is the role of the mysterious and hidden intelligence services behind such actions and programs. Institutions such as the Sahar Dialogue Center. It seems that Gadoev was misled by such institutions. Most likely, several lobbyists and supporters of the Taliban living in Europe misled Sharafuddin Gadoev by teaching him that the Taliban is a liberation, civil, and human rights movement. Something that the nature of the Taliban clearly contradicts. Here we are actually dealing not only with intelligence work, but also with the participation of apparently civilian and research institutions in such processes. These agencies act under very misleading names and stated goals, but they fulfill the hidden goals of the intelligence services. However, considering this possibility does not justify Sharafuddin Gadoev’s ignorance. Rather, it gives rise to rumors that Gadoev himself is part of a shadowy intelligence plan, operating under the cover of political opponents and declaring reformist goals. It is unlikely that the leader of a country's political opposition can be so ignorant that he does not know what is happening around his country.
Fifth, Afghanistan itself is in dire need of a revival of freedom and civil society.
If Gadoev is not a foreign intelligence agent and is truly fighting for freedom, justice, human rights, and democracy, he should know that his trip to Taliban-controlled Kabul is a great disgrace to his person and the civil liberties movement. Since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul, only intelligence agents and foreign Taliban supporters have visited this abandoned city. Freedom fighters are banned from traveling to Kabul, and any freedom fighter is arrested for traveling to this city.
Today, Afghanistan has as many migrants and displaced persons as the entire population of Tajikistan. This is not a random and voluntary migration. Thousands of freedom, democracy, and civilization fighters in Afghanistan during the 20-year republic were forced to flee the country when the Taliban returned to power, and thousands of them were killed and missing in four years. In this sense, Taliban-controlled Afghanistan can be called a cemetery of freedom. Is it possible to sing the anthem of freedom over the graves of thousands of freedom fighters and fight for freedom in neighboring countries? Of course not!
Gadoev, who was most likely misled, should come to his senses as soon as possible and sort out the situation. Because if he does not participate in intelligence projects, his presence in Kabul will cause irreparable damage to his image and personality as a leader of the democratic reform process in Tajikistan.
It should also be noted that in addition to the internal affairs of Tajikistan, the policy of the Emomali Rahmon government towards the Taliban is one of the best and most courageous foreign policies of the countries of the region and today the political processes in the region are moving in a direction that will ultimately lead to confirmation and proof of the correctness of the policy of the Tajik government. Today, many countries in the region, after many years of interaction with the Taliban, have concluded that interaction with this group not only does not meet the interests of peace and stability in the region, but also inadvertently increases terrorism, which our region will burn for many years to come.
