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About Afghanistan Peace Association:
The patriotic and Moslem people of Afghanistan have been the subject
of attacks and aggressions by foreign powers for centuries. Although
different civilizations of the country, the product of mental
and practical innovations of our people, have been looted and
annihilated as a result of such aggressions at various periods
in history,the aggressors, from near or far, have been faced with
the freedom-loving resistance of our people. Sooner or later,
they have confessed to our love for independence, been defeated
and left our country.
But almost after the
defeat of any foreign power, internal fratricidal wars have been
ignited among the people of our country which have pushed the
nation even more towards national disparity and chaos. Therefore,
our multi-ethnic nation, as a result of continuous foreign aggression
and conspiracies as well as internal political narrow- mindedness,
has not found the chance to strengthen and empower the fabric
of peace and national unity among the equal and brotherly ethnic
groups. We can see the latest example of this in the devastating
wars of the 60s and 70s H.S. (1980s and 90s). After the achievement
of their political goals of the interested foreign powers, internal
wars not only blocked the natural course of development in our
society, it also destroyed great parts of our motherland with
its existing cultural and historical civilization and has even
pushed the country to the verge of being partitioned. As we all
know, as a result of these fighting's, hundreds of thousand of
our people have been killed, millions of our
compatriots have been scattered around the world, and cities and
villages have been burned. Our motherland is undergoing the weakest
state in its social history. It is possible that our society can
break apart at any moment and our legendary history can become
a legend in history.
We at the Afghanistan Peace Association, believe that neither Afghanistan nor its freedom
loving Moslem people deserve all the misfortune which has been
imposed upon the majority of the people by either outside or internal
political-militarized forces. In lieu of the turbulent history
of Afghanistan, aggressions, killings, bleedings, fratricide and
devastations, the best
learned lesson one can conclude from the history is that the survival
of Afghanistan relies on national unity and permanent peace amongst
its people based on the establishment of the political and social
rights of ll of its citizens without any discrimination and this
alone. A path contrary to this , surely, will guarantee the devastation
of Afghanistan and Afghans as a nation.
Based on this very
sense of responsibility, some of our compatriots, on Aqrab 21,
1368 H.S. (November 11,1989), got together and decided to form
a new independent, nonaligned, but responsible organization. After
a few rounds of talks and exchange of ideas, the organization
was called the Afghanistan Peace Association (APA) and it drafted
its Goals and Principles of action which was considered valid
until the first Grand Peace Assembly convened. After five years
since its foundation, changes were made according to the new sociopolitical
situations in Afghanistan and the world to be proposed to the
first Grand Peace Assembly (GPA) of the Afghanistan Peace Association for ratification.
On Nov. 11, 1995, the 6th anniversary of the Afghanistan Peace Association, proposed changes
were amended in the Goals and Principles of the Afghanistan Peace Association by majority
vote. We hope these changes would be foretelling and a guarantor
for peace and prosperity for the people of Afghanistan in an environment
away from fratricidal wars.
The Afghanistan Peace Association is not seeking political power as a whole. It relies on
its national powers and will continue to do so. The Afghanistan Peace Association is an
independent organization that will try to become a social power
that, with its responsible participation, will play a tangible
role in conflict resolutions in current crises of the country
as well as to prevent such internal conflicts from happening among
the people of the country in the future. The Afghanistan Peace Association will strive to
become the sincere and assuring protector of the people and of
all the social forces of Afghanistan who will, in the political
arena, like to legally and legitimately rule the country. Discrimination
in the Afghanistan Peace Association is considered to be a unity-breaking and strange phenomenon;
thus, no peace-loving compatriot would be denied membership to
the Afghanistan Peace Association. Internal fighting and shooting at compatriots, in the
view of the Afghanistan Peace Association, is considered anti-Afghan, anti-national and
anti-unity. We believe that no internal fighting using weapons
can be justifiable and patriotic. The Afghanistan Peace Association, for all the forces
in the country in achieving their goals, prefers and considers
the path of peace and national unity preservation, negotiations
and understanding over the path of war and civil war, in particular,
justifiable and patriotic.
The Afghanistan Peace Association principles
are in full agreement with its humanitarian goals which is to
protect human rights. The guarantee of the rights of the Afghanistan Peace Association members
is based on the principle of equal rights. The principle determining
power is in the hands of the lower ranks, that is , the majority
of the Afghanistan Peace Association members. The Afghanistan Peace Association leadership is elected periodically
by the general voting membership. Any Afghan individual who becomes
a member of the Afghanistan Peace Association not only has the right, according to the bylaws
of the Afghanistan Peace Association, but also has a chance to be elected in the leadership
of the Afghanistan Peace Association through honest and persevering efforts in order to
offer his/her healthy experiences for the service of the people
and Afghanistan through the APA. The Afghanistan Peace Association , though not seeking
political power, will always push and guide the people and the
state towards peace, national unity and democracy. The members
of the Afghanistan Peace Association have the right to individually, and not on behalf of
the Afghanistan Peace Association, candidate themselves at any political level, or vote
for others.
The Afghanistan Peace Association, in the political
history of our country, is the only national organization that
struggles on based on some of the common opinions and beliefs
of the people in regard to achieving a common goal, which is restoration
of peace and national unity. The principle of respect for the
opinions and views of the Afghans distinguishes the Afghanistan Peace Association from other
groups and political parties. It gives our compatriots a chance
to fight for peace and national unity despite their different
opinions. By following this principle national unity will be experienced
in practice. The slogans of war and fratricide are practically
replaced by the actions of peace and brotherhood.
The Afghanistan Peace Association , as an independent
organization, will intensely be critical of any illegal and illegitimate
ruling power and will support and protect the popular opinion
against it. No government, but a government that would have risen
to power through free elections by the citizens of Afghanistan,
in view of the Afghanistan Peace Association, will be considered legitimate. The APA, as
a whole, will not be dependent on any political group. It will
act solely as a sociopolitical watch group for the rights of all
Afghan citizens and establishment of a legitimate ruling government.
Dear fragmented compatriots, Now is the time for all those Afghans
whose hearts beat for Afghanistan, to approve of and accept the
goals of the Afghanistan Peace Association with a clear and alert conscience, sense of responsibility,
courage, love for the country and broad-mindedness to obtain the
Afghanistan Peace Association membership and partake in the self-determination process constructively.
With membership to the Afghanistan Peace Association, you must refrain from those who shed
blood, get close with those who distance themselves, and become
one in action with those who seek friendship. The key to conflict
resolution is in our hands. We should not wait for the foreigners
to bring peace to Afghanistan and build it for us. This is our
historical duty and only ours. The term "national unity"
means to defend each other's rights which guarantees peace. Therefore,
do not consider any Afghan as an enemy. Do not leave the legacy
of war and fratricide behind for our children. Lay down your weapons
and look for ways to understand your compatriots. Do not let anyone
damage your unity under this or that pretext. Do not sacrifice
the future for the erroneous past. Do
not be afraid of peace and national unity. Join the APA. Success
and pride will be ours. Wa Salaam.
Our
Goals | Statutes | Organizational
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