Le nouveau grand jeu en Asie centrale: Quels défis pour la gauche?

Quels sont les enjeux et les conséquences politiques et géostratégiques de l'intervention impérialiste des Etats-Unis en Afghanistan?
Quelle est la situation dans ce pays après la chute des Taliban, l'arrivée au pouvoir de l'Alliance du Nord et la présence militaire occidentale
Une guerre entre les puissances nucléaires que sont le Pakistan et l'Inde est-elle possible?
Quelle est la situation et les perspectives pour les forces de gauche au Pakistan, en Afghanistan et dans la région?

Pour aborder ces questions, nous avons invité comme orateur:

Secrétaire général du Labour Party of Pakistan (LPP, Parti travailliste du Pakistan).

Le LPP est une organisation relativement récente, issue d'un regroupement des militants de la gauche radicale de traditions diverses à l'initiative d'un noyau de militants trotskistes. Le LLP compte quelques 2.000 membres, très présents dans les mouvements féministes et syndicaux (particulièrement cheminots). Malgré la répression, cette organisation marxiste-révolutionnaire lutte contre l'intervention impérialiste dans la région, contre le régime militaire de Musharaff et pour un Pakistan démocratique et socialiste.

Organisateurs: Socialisme sans frontière (tél: 02/523.40.23, e-mail: plantin@skynet.be)

Avec la collaboration du POS-Bruxelles.
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Interview with Farooq Tariq

1- What is the importance of the Kashmir question on the actual political conflicts in Pakistan?

Kashmir has been one of the main issues that has brought Pakistan and India to three wars and many time close to war. Kashmir is an independent nation with its own culture, language, traditions, area and history of many thousands years. At present Kashmir is carved up into two pieces, India and other annex one major part by Pakistani ruling class. Both claim that Kashmir is an integral part of them. Both are wrong.

During the past one-decade, religious fundamentalist groups have penetrated into Kashmir and are trying to change the color of the national struggle into religious struggle. They have the support of the section of the Pakistan army. India terms these "Mujahidin" as terrorist but Pakistani military regime declares their struggle as fight fore national liberation. The characterization of these Mujahidin fight within Kashmir is one of the main points of contradiction between the two bourgeoisie states. In fact both of these states have used kashmir as a political football to divert the attention from internal problems. Kashmir has been used to whip up the chauvinistic feelings on both sides.

It was an agreed formula by British Imperialism with both Congress and Muslim League at the time of independence that the states that have Muslim majority will join Pakistan and others will be part of India. Kashmir was Muslim majority state but the ruler at the time in 1947 was a Hindu Raja. He unilaterally declared that Kashmir will join India. This was against the feelings of the majority. This resulted the first war between the two newly independent states. Pakistani army captured part of Kashmir during the war. In the meantime, UN intervened and war stopped. The agreed resolution was that there will be a referendum to know the will of Kashmir where they want to join. This resolution does not give a chance to Kashmir people the right of independence. The part which Pakistan took over during the war is know as Azad Kashmir (independent Kashmir), in fact this is a Pakistani occupied area where there is puppet government and there is no real democracy in this part.

The proposed referendum never took place on one or other excuse. There was war in 1965 and then in 1971 between India and Pakistan. The main issue of the 65 war was once again the Kashmir. During the eighties, the national struggle for the independent of Kashmir took a new turn with kidnapping, hijackings and hangings on both sides. A mass movement erupted in the Indian Occupied Kashmir, which was crushed by the Indian army. Over 600,000 army was deployed in the area.

After the fall of Kabul in the hands of Mujahidin in 1992, man of the Mujahidin who took part in the war against the Soviets occupation went to Kashmir to spread the "Islamic Revolution" to other areas. They had the support of the part of military intelligence of Pakistan. Many camps were set up by new Islamic organizations that started recruiting the youth to fight the Islamic war in Kashmir. This has been termed as foreign hand in Kashmir problems by India but Pakistani ruling class declares this as a struggle for the freedom of Kashmir.

Now Pakistani military regime is on a crossroad. On one side it has declared the Talban as terrorist but the terrorist activities in Kashmir is still regarded as a national struggle. They can not have the both ways. They have to choose what they have to do with Kashmir issue. Indian ruling class on the other hand tried its best that Pakistan should be declared as a terrorist state. It put a lot of pressure on the US imperialism to curb the terrorism of Kashmir. They are demanding that Kashmir should be the next place where a war should be engaged against the terrorism.

But the attitude of Indian ruling class is to suppress the national struggle of Kashmir masses. There are different trends within the Kashmir national struggle. For Vajpai regime, the solution for Kashmir is more autonomy. But the struggle has gone much further than that. Labour Party Pakistan supports an independent Kashmir free from Pakistan and India on a Socialist basis.

2- What is the importance of the nuclear question as far as the political regional issues are concern?

It is one the burning question here. Both India and Pakistani ruling class posses the nuclear arms. Both the most poverty sticken states. But the expenditure on the military spending in both countries are enormous. In Pakistan it goes upto 45% of the total GDP. The nuclear weapons at the hand of two enemy states are not safe neither the people of these countries. It is truer when a military regime in Pakistan and an extreme right wing regime in India basis itself on the enmity of each other. Both claim it is not for use but for defense of each country. Both claim that no one can attack on its country in the presence of these weapons. But the fact is that the both countries went to war in Kargil in the end of 98 after the nuclear testing.
In fact, the possession of the nuclear weapons in the hands of these two ruling class has put the peace of the whole world in danger. The religious fundamentalists are quite powerful forces on both sides. If these forces ever happen to capture these weapons, a new dangerous situation can emerge, that is never seen before in the history of the world.

3- What about the UNO political and military plan in Afghanistan?

UN plan for Afghanistan is nothing but to restore a regime favorable to US imperialism. It is now talking of a broad base regime in Kabul under the shadow of former King Zahir Shah. But the Northern Alliance capture of Kabul with the help of the regime has changed the whole scenario. The NA now is in a position to dictate its terms to other groups. Power in Kabul is very symbolic. It means he who has Kabul rules Afghanistan. It will change the priorities of the UN as well. A broad base government in Afghanistan will still be dependent on Northern Alliance.

arch/ive/ief (2000 - 2005)