The leader is getting prepared again

il leader si sta preparando di nuovo


a caricature by Amin Wahidi

A gift to the People of Freedom

Un omaggio per IL GRANDE POPOLO DELLA LIBERTA





a caricature by Amin Wahidi

Frighten them to govern on them!

By Amin Wahidi

As a refugee resident in this country, I do not yet have the right to vote, nor in the parliamentary neither in municipal elections, as the citizens do. And therefore so far I was not sensitive to the recent municipal election results until I saw some provocative electoral posters by Lega Nord and PDL on the walls in Milan these days. Seeing these posters, I was encouraged to write a few lines on the issue “frighten them to govern on them.” The results in the first round of voting which took place in 16 and 17 May, showed how Berlusconi and his candidate for municipality of Milan, Letizia Moratti were on the edge by an unexpected vote result. The result was a shock for all their allies including the most radical new-fascist party, Lega Nord. Letizia Moratti supported by center-right parties such as PDL, and the radical racist parties such as Lega Nord got 41% of the votes while her rival Giuliano Pisapia supported by center-left parties such as PD, Sinistra Ecologica Liberta etc, received 48, 4 % of the votes. Letizia Moratti in the elections in 2006 had won 52% of the votes against her centre-left coalition candidate Bruno Ferrante who had 47 % of the votes.

This year’s first round result showed a great deal of people’s tendency to the leftist political parties in the recent years.

One of the reasons for Moratti’s loss may have been her negative approaches in her campaign; defaming her rival candidate Pisapia without any proves against him and then using the mottos that do not have anymore effects in the electoral campaign market. But in contrary having the support of many leftist parties, Giuliano Pisapia, the clever rival for Moratti in this election, did not defame his rival, instead he had presented his own alternative plans and programs for Milan through different gatherings.

Even though, if Pisapia wanted to use the defamation policy against his rival candidate and her party, there would already be many proves against Berlusconi, the on going cases against him in Milan Court would be enough material, but for Pisapia, it was more useful to be firm and steady on his position and suffice to presentation of his own programs. He instead had offered alternatives for the betterment of Milan especially in the period when Milan is getting prepared to host The World Expo 2015.

The other thing that helped him get more votes than Moratti was accompaniment of many famous artists, writers and singers in his electoral campaign.

In this election, Moratti’s weakness was relying on PDL and Lega Nord misleading policy of “Frighten them to rule on them” which showed they did not have any interesting and useful plans for the city to present to the citizens.

Moratti’s team instead of presenting their clear programs on what she will do for betterment of Milan if she wins the election; she relied on frightening the citizens with the issues such as immigration, the mosques, nomad camps etc.

They tried to show the people, the negative consequences of a center left mayor in the office but they seemed to be failed in their struggle.

They claimed if the centre-left coalition wins in this election, they will make mosques for the Muslims in the city, they will let more Roma Nomads in the city and they will give more opportunities to the foreign immigrants rather than the citizens.

Through a multi-million euro electoral campaign, Letizia Moratti had already prepared herself to win the election and stay in her current position, mayor of Milan but things did not go as she expected.

Her first weakness was the contradictions from one to the other of her electoral posters; in one she put the photos of different faces and different colors and said Milan would give equal opportunities to everyone, and then in another one she frightened the citizens from foreign immigrants.

This policy “using foreign immigrants as frightening puppets” which may have been useful a few years back, now seem to be expired and out of use. It is now some years that the People in Milan already live with the foreign immigrants and as time pass they get to know them better, so no need to have fear from them, it is what the foreign immigrants have proved so far. And obviously they have contributed to the multi-ethnicity and economic development of Milan, most Italian citizens in Milan admit it.

Seeing the baffle in Moratti’s electoral team after their defeat, they look like people drowning into a deep see who try to grab anything first comes in the hands just to rescue themselves and survive.

Moratti’s main supporter, 75 years-old Mr. Berlusconi based on many cases against him in Milan Court, is still accused of corruption, sexual affair with minors and misusing his media empire for his favor and that is why he does not seem to have the popularity anymore in Italy. So far there have been many demonstrations against him in different cities of Italy and millions of people have named a day as No Berlusconi Day in their calendar 5^th December 2009. After his disrepute for his sexual affairs with several beautiful young women including a minor girl, the women in Italy who make half of the voter population see him as a shameful figure who has insulted the feminine gender in this country. For them he is rather a playboy man than a political leader of the country.

Many famous Italian intellectual and writers have stated that Berlusconi has become a symbol of shame for their country. They think, Berlusconi has lowered the dignity of Italy which was once famous for its bright history, art and science. They have said; Berlusconi can not represent the Italian values.

Milan as the economic capital of Italy has a special importance for old Mr. Berlusconi, it is his birth place, and a great number of his supporters live in this city, therefore Municipality of Milano seems to be the last resistance front for him and his party PDL, thus he might do anything for Moratti to win in this election, even if through fraud and falsity, otherwise considering his trembling position in the government, losing in Milan will definitely weaken his political position more than before and his failure in the politics may affect his cases in the court and may cause his failure in his private business as well. Giuliano Pisapia may or may not win in Milan, but his candidature and people’s ovation for him showed that despite Berlusconi’s media empire propaganda, people judge the candidates and their parties based on what they see from them and experience practically in their daily lives, not through what Mediaset feed them on daily basis.

If Pisapia wins, people should not expect many great changes in overnight, he may only plant the seeds of some changes for the years ahead but the important thing is people’s awakening and their determination for such great changes in their city and in the country. The time has come for it now.

Spring; a season for Hazaras’ bloodshed by Kochi nomads

Photo Copy Right @ HazaraPeople.com

By Nima Idihaw

Spring comes with greenery which should naturally bring hope and happiness for the creatures, but it is different at least for the Hazaras of Behsood District. In the last days of winter people in Behsood begin to feel fear for the coming season; spring.

Passing a long cold winter behind, people wish to begin the New Year with new plans but the Kochis arrival in the area changes all their plans. The greenery becomes sign of bloodshed for them and hopes turns into disappointment.

Being a Hazara and living in Behsood you get confused; is spring naturally disastrous or the Kochi nomads are the cause for the disasters?

Every year in the spring, Kochi nomads armed with weapons arrive from the southern and eastern provinces to Hazarajaat, or the Hazaras’ Lands. Some of them even come from beyond he borders, from North West and South West Pakistan and use the farms and pastures of the Hazarajaat in central Afghanistan for their livestock. When the local inhabitants who are mostly farmers object to Kochi’s destructions, they are responded with heavy weapons and are forced to flee the area.

Attacks and harassments against the Hazaras have a long history. This category of attacks was legitimized by a decree singed by Amir Abdul Rahman Khan, the tyrant king ruling from 1880-1901 in Afghanistan, more than a century back.

Now after more than a century the third and fourth generation of the Kochis still permit themselves to come and use the Hazaras farms as pastures for their animals, based on that decree.

During his war against the Hazaras (1885-1895) who had their own popular local governments, the tyrant king massacred more than 60% percent of the Hazara population and forced many thousands to flee to the neighboring countries, as the historians say.

The king in order to obtain the support of eastern and southern Pashtoon tribes who were famous for savagery, let them kill the Hazaras and loot their belongings freely, he then legitimized it by a decree to encourage them more.

Many of the surviving Hazaras remained slaves for a couple of decades thereafter.

Abdul Rahman Khan died and Hazaras’ slavery remained legitimate until his grandson the reformist king Amanullah Khan removed that status by a decree through a Loya Jirga in 1923.

By annulment of that decree even though a historical change took place for the Hazaras but the attacks against them and their properties remained for long.

The Hazaras were safe from Kochi attacks only for a decade during the pro-communist regime in Kabul (1980-1990) that promoted social equality and relatively supported the poor. During the Taliban Regime, the attacks reached its hot point when the Kochis had the full logistic and moral support of the Taliban. In this period, they joined the Taliban frontlines and were free to use the lands of non- Pashtoon ethnics throughout Afghanistan. They used the farms as the pastures for their livestock in the Central Highlands. In the post- Taliban era, after the new government was formed, the Hazaras’ resistance forces put down their guns and opened their doors for democracy to receive at least equal treatments as all other ethnics in the country, but as they opened shoulders to embrace democracy, they were not only being targeted by the fundamentalists but also they are being discriminated by the central government in different ways.

The report and evidence show that there are officials in Karzai government who continuously and generously support and fund the Kochis to attack the Hazaras annually.

It happens for at least two or three clear reasons as the analyst speculate. The first reason is to transfer the load of war from the south and east provinces where the major population is ethnic Pashtoon to the Central Highlands where most of the inhabitants are the Hazaras.

The second reason is to obtain the consent of the Pashtoon tribes who think to be victimized in the war against terror. The lands of the Hazaras seem to be a cheap incentive to compensate their rebellion against the government. And the third reason is involving the Hazaras in a war to stop their efforts for a federal government in Afghanistan. The Hazaras have many times showed interest in federal government in Afghanistan where every ethnic would have independence in their regions through a positive competition.

In spite of being historical victims of massacres in Afghanistan, the peaceful nature of the Hazaras inhibit them carrying weapons to defend themselves against terrorism as they rely on national security forces. They are tolerant and believe in peaceful transformation of a society through long term civic changes in the country thus they deny picking up guns and begin to fight. On the other hand in a country where savagery is an ordinary behavior, their existence is threatened to be eliminated and they are put in a crossroad of how to react with these fatal threats.

Respecting the rule of law in the country, the Hazaras did not pick up guns for their lawful demands and basic rights, but they have repeatedly urged the attention of Afghan Security forces and NATO that are the responsible bodies for the security in the country, but non have been helpful to them so far.

Will spring turn to be a good season for them again, nobody knows.

See also

Kochis well-armed to kill more Hazaras

Trilogy of Life by a Hazara child in Behsood

Photo reportage: Demonstration in Italy against Kochi attacks on Behsood