"MORE IMPORTANT THAN A POSITION IN THE GOVERNMENT IS KEEPING THE PEACE"
A Q&A with Afghan Deputy Defense Minister Abdul Rashid Dostum: 4/24/02
Conducted by Camelia Enkhetabi-Fard

When exiled former king Zahir Shah returned to Kabul on April 18, Uzbek warlord and Afghan Deputy Defense Minister General Abdul Rashid Dostum drew a lot of attention. Many people had noticed that at the former king's airport ceremony, general Dostum keenly stood close by the beloved Pashtun. [For more information, see the Eurasia Insight archive]. After the ceremonies, Dostum - dressed in civilian clothes instead of his familiar fatigues - held meetings with Kandahar governor Gul Agha Shirzai, interim government Chairman Hamid Karzai and US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, among other people. He intimated that these meetings covered the upcoming Loya Jirga, or grand legislative council, that will shape and appoint Afghanistan's government. The Uzbek claimed that the meetings also dwelt on the central role of the North in reconstruction process. Two days later, he talked to EurasiaNet.

On the day of the interview, before I could even turn my tape recorder on, general Dostum turned to me and said gruffly, "What is this warlord thing you journalists refer to me?" As I was thinking of a suitable answer, his secretary, Mr. Zaki, who looks like very much like him, took a look at his watch and said "20 minutes. You have exactly 20 minutes for the interview." Immediately, Dostum began to speak of what he thought to be the crucial role of the North and Mazar e Sharif, his base, in the future of Afghanistan. When he was finished, I turned to Mr. Zaki and said: "Now it's my turn, the 20 minutes starts now."

EurasiaNet: What would you like to see happen in the Loya Jirga?
Dostum: We gave the military struggle direction in the fight against terrorism. The armies are armies and they have done their job. Now, nobody can make mistakes any more. The Loya Jirga is left in the hands of the special commission to organize it. They are civilians, we are military. We are not allowed to interfere in its work. All we can do is to make sure that their work goes on smoothly and without disruption.

EurasiaNet: What concrete steps can be done to ensure that the work is carried out smoothly?
Dostum: Finally, after 23 years of war and destruction, we have an opportunity for elections and for sending our representatives to a Loya Jirga. I talked with Lakhdar Brahimi and the Loya Jirga election commission, and we have worked together. Our citizens in the North support the Loya Jirga and the central government. They don't want divisions and war again. We are doing everything possible to facilitate the work of the Loya Jirga commission.

EurasiaNet: You have had several meetings in the last two days. Can you tell us with whom you met and what was discussed in those meetings?
Dostum: In the Vahdat Party office in Kabul, we had meetings with most of the provincial officials and the elders from all the ethnic groups that had come to welcome the King back to Afghanistan. We talked about the need for more unity and how we could work together, on a closer basis. One of the things we have discussed is the fate of prisoners. In Mazar e Sharif, we have more than 2900 Taliban prisoners. For the last few months, about 800 prisoners were freed by us and now our brothers in the other provinces have asked us if we have any more prisoners who may have joined Taliban accidentally or by force. We have Afghans, Pakistani and other nationalities among these prisoners. The plan is that a group working for the UN would come to Mazar and see the prisoners and tell us which ones they think must be let go. Of course, we have to have Karzai's consent too.

EurasiaNet: Many people thought it was significant that you were seen throughout the reception for the king at the airport standing very close to him.
Dostum: Dostum is always the same person. I have never changed my side in the years of conflict. In the past I supported [Mohammed] Najibullah, [the Soviet-backed head of Afghanistan from 1986 to 1992]. That is when he had the support of our people. Our side is the peoples' side. For the past nine years, during the time of the martyred [Northern Alliance commander Ahmed Shah] Massoud and [Shia leader Abdul Ali] Mazari, I have my contact with the King. Nine years ago in our meeting we had an agreement - called the Rome meeting agreement. There, we agreed on the King's role for peacekeeping in Afghanistan. Since that date, back and fourth, we have had kept our contacts with the King. I have been in touch with him by telephone, during the good days and during the bad days. He is the old father of Afghanistan and from the Loya Jirga to the government to ethnic chiefs, everyone has respect for him.

EurasiaNet: The absence of your boss, [Defense Minister] General Mohammed Fahim, at the airport was noted by a few. Were there any special reasons for this?
Dostum: Fahim wasn't at the airport. It would have been good if he had come. People have explanations of their own about this. But he had to be in Paris. The French Defense Minister had invited him a very long time ago and he couldn't change the schedule. I was there, I am deputy defense minister and I represent the minister. I represent the North as well.

EurasiaNet: It was said that you were very close to being named the Defense Minister during the Bonn conference [in December 2001, which established the interim government]. Would you like to be a candidate for this job in the future?
Dostum: First of all I have to say positions are not important to me. Some of our students from the past now have positions in the interim government. Fahim is a minister and I am deputy minister. I agreed to take this job in order to unite all the mujaheddin. I took it to prevent future mistakes from being made. If we are a deputy minister or not, people still support us and respect us. Nobody can forget Dostum's role in fighting and capturing the Taliban and al Qaeda. I hope peace process goes well. I hope we could continue to receive the support of the whole world. After 23 years we now have a unique opportunity. We had a chance before when Najib lost power. If now we miss the opportunity again, war comes again and this time the world would not be interested in us anymore. So the peace right now is very critical. More important than a position in the government is keeping the peace.

EurasiaNet: Do you still have your contacts with the American army?
Dostum: At the beginning, the first group of American army came to us. Now we don't have the American army in the North, but we keep in contact with them. We owe very much to the American forces. Without their air power, we couldn't have defeated terrorism the way we did. I have my contact with Khalilzad and other Americans by phone.

Editor's Note: Camelia Entekhabi-Fard is a journalist who specializes in Afghan and Iranian affairs. She is currently in Afghanistan reporting for EurasiaNet.

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Posted April 24, 2002 © Eurasianet
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