Street Protests After Minister's Removal

As many as 2,000 demonstrators took to the streets of Mazar-e-Sharif at the end of last week to voice their opposition to the removal of Haji Mohammad Mohaqeq as Afghanistan’s planning minister.

The March 12 protest was organised by Hizb-e-Wahdat , a prominent mujahedin party composed mainly of ethnic Hazaras.

The demonstrators, nearly all of them Hazaras like Mohaqeq, chanted slogans against Afghan president Hamed Karzai and asked the government to restore the minister to his post.

The demonstration started at 7 am and lasted almost five hours. People roamed the streets carrying photos of Afghan leaders such as Abdol Ali Mazari, a Hizb-e-Wahdat leader killed by the Taleban, Haji Abdul Qadir, an Afghan vice president killed in 2002, and slain Northern Alliance leader Ahmed Shah Massoud.

With shouts of “Karzai, Karzai, resign, resign!” and “Mohaqeq, Mohaqeq, we support you!”, the protesters marched through the streets, occasionally stopping to read out statements over a loudspeaker.

Ashraf Ramadan, a well-known businessman who is an active member of Hizb-e-Wahdat and a delegate to the recent constitutional Loya Jirga, said that during the previous Loya Jirga in 2002, Karzai promised to put Hazaras in charge of five key ministries in the interests of creating an ethnic balance in the government.

“We want to take part in the political system of Afghanistan in proportion to our population,” said Ramadan.

Hazaras are a minority in Afghanistan and have long been subject to discrimination, in part because of their distinctive east Asian looks and their practice of Shia Islam. Most live in the central highlands, but some live in Mazar-e-Sharif and surrounding regions of the north.

Mohaqeq led Hizb-e-Wahdat – the most important faction associated with the Hazara – in these northern areas after the fall of the Taleban, and has been Afghanistan’s planning minister since the first interim cabinet was formed in December 2001.

Mohaqeq recently announced plans to run for president against Karzai, a Pashtun, in the election scheduled for June this year.

Some Afghan officials say that Mohaqeq offered his resignation and Karzai accepted it. But he himself says he was fired.

Ghulam Hussein, who was a delegate to the 2002 Loya Jirga, said the circumstances of Mohaqeq’s departure remain mysterious. He said he believed the protests would continue until the government offers a response.

Demonstrators told IWPR they intended to make themselves heard. “We support Mohaqeq. If they don’t listen to our voice, we will hold more demonstrations. We will not remain silent,” said protestor Sultan Mohammad.

“This is not national unity,” complained 20-year-old Mohammad Sakhi. “We expected the government to give us [Hazaras] more power and positions, but it is sacking our official instead.”

The demonstrators issued a 12-point statement arguing that removing prominent figures like Mohaqeq would compromise national unity, and that isolating those who led the war against Soviet occupation was an insult to the jihad itself.

The demonstrators gathered outside a United Nations programme office in Mazar-e-Sharif to read out their resolutions. They said Mohaqeq’s removal from the government ran counter to the idea of national unity, and pointedly referred to him as planning minister despite his removal.

They called for a popular government in which people from every ethnic group could have a voice.

The protesters called on the UN to monitor and observe the presidential election.

At the end of the march, the protesters gathered at a graveyard where Abdol Ali Mazari – the party leader regarded with reverence by Hizb-e-Wahdat supporters since his death in 1995 – lies buried. As the protest coincided with the ninth anniversary of his death in Taleban custody, the crowds of people who came to pay their respects – including some women – swelled the ranks of the protesters.

At the graveyard gathering, Mohammad Sardar Saidi, the current leader of the Hizb-e-Wahdat party in the north, said the government should ensure fairness and justice in its dealings with all Afghans.

“The government must uphold justice in its affairs, since all ethnic groups play a role in the government,” he said.

Nahim Qadery and Sayed Yaqub Ibrahimi are independent journalists working with IWPR in Mazar-e-Sharif.