The Washington Foreign Law Society: Afghanistan: Her Elections
and Future
Remakes by Ambassador Said T. Jawad
The Cosmos Club, Washington, DC
11/17/2004
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I would like to thank the Washington Foreign Law
Society for organizing this event.
Afghanistan’s first presidential election
was a historic achievement with phenomenal scenes that Afghans
will cherish for years to come.
Let me share some snapshots of these great moments
of our modern history.
An 80-year old woman, blind and frail, arriving
at a polling station in Kabul with her grandson said, “I
did not sleep a wink last night. Several times I woke up my
grandson, worrying about the break of daylight and missing the
chance to vote.”
In many villages, people showed up at polling
stations, in their finest clothes, as if they were participating
in a religious or a national festival.
In Kunar, a rocket landed two hundred yards away
from a long line of women waiting to vote. No one ran way. They
insisted they would remain in line. One woman said, “If
we run away from the terrorists, the rockets will continue to
come. We want to stay here and vote because this is the only
way to stop these terrorists’ attacks forever.”
This was Afghanistan on Election Day, barely three
years after defeating the Taliban.
Afghans proved that 30 years of misery have strengthened
their determination to build a peaceful, prosperous and democratic
Afghanistan.
The election was free of violence. It was fair
and credible.
The threat of a large scale terrorist attack,
the fear of intimidation by warlords, and the speculation of
“deal-making” by the President never materialized.
The real credit goes to the Afghan people who cast their votes
despite the threats. This process would not have been successful
without their participation and vigilance.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
When 8.4 million Muslims, Afghan men and women,
proudly and patiently lined up to vote, they not only demonstrated
their courage, competence, and commitment to democracy, they
also sent a strong message to terrorists and extremists.
Afghanistan’s transition and successful
advance on the path to democracy and state-building will impact
the expectations and the aspirations of the people all over
the world. Every vote cast in Afghanistan was a vote against
terror and in favor of democracy and global security.
The election proved that the partnership of the
international community with Afghanistan yielded significant
results for democracy and global security.
This is a shared achievement by Afghans, the United States and
over 45 countries contributing troops, funds and resources to
help stabilize and rebuild our country. We are grateful to each
and every one of them.
Afghans and our partners in the international
community have much to be proud of on that day for taking Afghanistan
a long way forward in three short years.
The successful partnership with the international
community enabled us to introduce a new currency, adopt a very
progressive constitution, draft new investment and banking laws,
attract foreign banks and foreign direct investment, revive
the private sector, provide education for more then 5.6 million
boys and girls, remove political censorship from the media,
and connect the country by building roads and telecommunication
systems.
Commerce and trade through Afghanistan have increased,
enhancing movement of goods along the historic Silk Road in
Asia. Over the past three years, most Afghans have experienced
a significant improvement in their living conditions. 86% of
Afghans think that they are better off today. Last year, we
reached an economic growth rate of 29%, and continuing at 20%
this year, according to the International Monetary Fund.
On January 4, 2004, President Karzai signed our
new constitution into law. A constitution that is visionary
and balanced, and guarantees equal rights and full participation
of women in all spheres of life. The new constitution is the
most liberal charter in the region.
Afghanistan is emerging as an exemplary model
of success of international partnership. President Karzai won
the election. But in this election, there are no losers except
for the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The Afghan people have won this
election.
The newly elected government will enjoy more robust
support of the people, but it also will be burdened with meeting
their expectations.
The new government must deliver. Afghans are very
optimistic and have high expectations for the future. They voted
to elect a president who is committed to improve security, enhance
the rule of law, fight narcotics and corruption, and dissolve
private militias. They want schools and education. A widow said,
“Our children are deaf from the sound of rocket explosions,
I am voting for a President who will build schools for us and
give us peace. I cannot read, but I do not want my children
to be illiterate.”
The new president must live up to the fair expectations
of the people. In six months, Afghans are going to the polls
to choose their parliament. By then, Afghans must feel the tangible
results of their first investment in democracy. There are many
warlords and drug lords dying to make their way into our future
parliament. The Afghan people demand a parliament that expedites
the process of building a civil society in Afghanistan. During
his short campaign, President Karzai promised the Afghan people
he would build on the successes of the partnership with the
international community.
We have a challenging road ahead of us. We face
the enormous task of building a State and providing for good
governance, after complete destruction of all national institutions
and a severe shortage of resources and human capital.
To overcome these challenges we must reform, strengthen
and rebuild our government institutions to make them accountable,
capable, and more professional. We must also improve local and
district level governance, and enhance government capacity to
deliver services to every corner of the country, especially
areas prone to terrorist infiltration.
All Afghans have not yet benefited from the peace
dividends. We must eliminate corruption, nepotism and abuse
of power that undermine our recovery process.
We continue to confront security challenges posed
by the terrorists and other elements. To overcome security challenges
we are working to expedite the process of building our national
army and professional police force, dissolve private militias,
and implementing the demobilization, disarmament and reintegration
of former combatants.
Narcotics pose a serious challenge for all of
us. Cultivation and trafficking of narcotics go hand in hand
with terrorism and warlordism. It is to our best national interest
to fight them all. We are committed to mobilizing all our resources
in the fight against narcotics.
We know heroin, which sells on the retail market
for one hundred times the farm gate price in Afghanistan, is
one of the sources of the illegal money that funds international
terrorism and crime across the region. It also finances the
destabilizing activities of warlords and criminals in Afghanistan.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Now that the Afghan people have participated very
enthusiastically in the national election, the new president
must live up to the fair expectations of the people.
In six months, Afghans are going to the polls
to choose their parliament. By then, Afghans must feel the tangible
results of their first investment in democracy.
The Afghan people have put their trust in the
benefits of democracy and international partnership. Now it
is up to the new government and the international community
to deliver and prove that this trust is properly placed.
Thank you.
