(Afghanistan and Federalism)
(Part 18)
Failed Examples of Federalism
Apart from the numerous political, cultural and security challenges of federalism, we must notice that many non-developed countries in today’s world are federalists which are either disintegrated or are on the verge of disintegration. Czechoslovakia was made up of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, which was collapsed in 1993. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia officially collapsed in 2006 with the declaration of independence of Montenegro. The 1960 Cypriot constitution was drafted by the federal government, but the Greek-Turkish alliance could not reach an agreement and they are always in conflict. In the Federal Republic of Iraq, the autonomous government of the Kurdistan Region has repeatedly tried to turn the Iraqi federal government into Iraqi confederalism in recent years; This means to merge several countries into one country in order to finally get successful to establish an independent state of Kurdistan! In addition, the United Republic of Tanzania, including Zanzibar and Tanganyika, the Federal Republic of Cameroon, the Federal Republic of Pakistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ethiopia, South Sudan, Nigeria, Colombia, and the most backward countries in the world, all use the federal system. But as a result of integration, they are all involved in civil wars, insecurity, political tensions, and economic and cultural problems, and at any moment, like Balochistan, Pakistan or Iraqi Kurdistan, it is expected to declare independence or disintegrate the country.
It seems that the federal system has nothing to do with Afghanistan’s problems, nor does it solve the country’s problems, or neither does it have a place in Afghanistan society. This system is as harmful like a poison for Afghan society. With all its good features and despite the fact that most of the developed countries of the world are subordinate to this system, it does not answer and solve the problems of Afghanistan; Because it is neither in line with our historical conditions nor with the spirit of national integration. Federalism is appropriate to countries in which several nationalities with completely different identities, namely different languages, cultures, and religions, have come together in a historical context to form a political unit; So at the beginning of the formation of a political unit, they create a federal unit and then move towards national unity with federalism, like the United States. Federalism is not suitable for countries with a long history, national unity and solidarity. If the separatists want to do things opposite and make the ancient countries federal, it means to target the destruction of the country; Because they are similar to people who actually intentionally destroying a building. Many scholars, including political activists, have emphasized that the federal political structure means the destruction of Afghanistan.
The federalists do not have a clear definition of the federal system in Afghanistan, but they want to provoke the ethnic and religious feelings of the people and they mislead the nation by telling them “We Support You, the Government is in the Hands of one Nation, and Other Ethnic Groups are Deprived of Power.” In recent years, those people have mis-used the pure feelings of the people to express themselves; By spreading those rumors, they do not only intend to provide the right solution; But they (add fuel to fire) and make the problems of the people even worse.
Robert Blackville, the Former US Ambassador to India, presented a plan and called for the disintegration of Afghanistan. Peter Galbraith, the former UN Deputy Representative for Afghanistan, then raised the issue of the disintegration of Afghanistan in two regions, and later the International Foundation for Strategic Studies (IISS), as one of the most prestigious British research centers raise tow suggestions; firstly, more foreign troops should leave the country, secondly Federal system must be performed for Afghanistan. According to the center, many NATO soldiers can be expelled from Afghanistan, and those who remain, can focus in the North part rather than the South. In other words, this plan divides Afghanistan in two parts, the North and the South, with a hypothetical line.