Latif Pedram
Encyclopedia
Abdul Latīf Pedrām Ph.D., is a politician and a Member of Parliament in Afghanistan
. He emerged as a controversial figure in the press and political circles for campaigning for women's personal rights, a taboo subject in Afghanistan's culture. Currently, he is the leader of the National Congress Party of Afghanistan
and is one of the nine representatives of Badakhshan province in the lower house of parliament.
in 1963 to a Persian-speaking
Tājīk family, Latīf Pedrām is a writer, poet, journalist, and professor of Persian literature
. He was director of the library of the Hakīm Nāṣer Ḫoṣrow Balḫī Cultural Center. First a supporter of the communist government
, he soon began to openly criticize and oppose the Soviet occupation
of Afghanistan.
He stayed in Afghanistan during most of the war years, moving around the country to be able to pursue his activities. Latīf Pedrām was finally forced into exile by the advance of the Taliban and their policies of ethnic and linguistic segregation. Before returning to Afghanistan after the demise of the Taliban, he lived for a while in France where he attempted to promote Afghanistan's Persian poetry and literature
.
and secularism
in Afghanistan. He denounces corruption and strongly opposes Islamic fundamentalism
. He advocates an independent, but decentralized Afghanistan, and believes that the country should be divided into autonomous regions under the control of regional capitals.
Although his party is multi-ethnic and is, so far, the only opposition party that is not linked to an armed group, he is regarded by some as a Tajik nationalist politician with a "strong anti-Pashtun tone". The Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and comprise ca. 40% of the total population. Perhaps his most controversial statement is the demand for a name-change in Afghanistan. In many publications and articles, he proposed the change of the name "Afghanistan" to "Khorasan
", the medieval name of the region, in order to settle some inter-ethnic feuds. His statement is based on the fact that the current name of the country is synonymous with "Land of Pashtuns"
.
- being the strongest of the small candidates. Following the outcome, he criticized the government and the results, saying that "large-scale fraud had occurred", which was "completely shameful." Prior to the votes, Latīf Pedrām had argued that the presidential election should be delayed because of insecurity and to arrange for the whole Afghan diaspora to vote.
, who is regarded as a "national hero" by many in the country. However, In an interview on Khorasan TV he denied this claim and said that his voice was tampered with. This led to hot editorial crossfires among the press and in the Parliament and Cabinet, echoing with ethnic conflicts when ethnic blocks were identified supporting and criticizing Latīf Pedrām. Following this, the government of Afghanistan
tried banning the National Congress Party of Afghanistan and ordered that "comments about former kings, the president and Jihadi leaders are not allowed." Since the incident, Latīf Pedrām lived under house arrest
in Kabul until November 2008. While expressing its concern regarding the regression of democracy in Afghanistan one year before the 2009 presidential elections, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) called for the unconditional release of Latīf Pedrām.
included Pedrām on a list of fifteen possible candidates in the controversial 2009 Afghan Presidential election.
Preliminary results placed Pedrām eleventh in a field of 38 candidates and according to the controversial Independent Election Committee (IEC), he ultimately received 0.34% of the votes. According to IEC results, Pedrām received 6,686 votes in his home province of Badakhshan, considerably lower than the 33,510 votes he received during the 2004 presidential election.
, Latīf Pedrām received 8469 votes in Badakhshan, being the third representative from that province to be elected into the parliament, after Fowzia Kūfī and Zalmay Mudjadadī.
He is also an honorary member of:
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. He emerged as a controversial figure in the press and political circles for campaigning for women's personal rights, a taboo subject in Afghanistan's culture. Currently, he is the leader of the National Congress Party of Afghanistan
National Congress Party of Afghanistan
The National Congress Party of Afghanistan is a liberal, secular, and multi-ethnic political party in Afghanistan. The party was formed in 2004 and is the only major opposition party that is not linked to an armed group. The leader of this party is Latīf Pedrām who is an opponent of the...
and is one of the nine representatives of Badakhshan province in the lower house of parliament.
Biography
Born in BadakhshanBadakhshan Province
Badakhshan is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, consisting of 28 districts. It is located in the north-east of the country, between the Hindu Kush and the Amu Darya. It is part of the Badakhshan region.-Geography:...
in 1963 to a Persian-speaking
Persian language
Persian is an Iranian language within the Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European languages. It is primarily spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and countries which historically came under Persian influence...
Tājīk family, Latīf Pedrām is a writer, poet, journalist, and professor of Persian literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
. He was director of the library of the Hakīm Nāṣer Ḫoṣrow Balḫī Cultural Center. First a supporter of the communist government
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
The Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was a government of Afghanistan between 1978 and 1992. It was both ideologically close to and economically dependent on the Soviet Union, and was a major belligerent of the Afghan Civil War.- Saur Revolution :...
, he soon began to openly criticize and oppose the Soviet occupation
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
of Afghanistan.
He stayed in Afghanistan during most of the war years, moving around the country to be able to pursue his activities. Latīf Pedrām was finally forced into exile by the advance of the Taliban and their policies of ethnic and linguistic segregation. Before returning to Afghanistan after the demise of the Taliban, he lived for a while in France where he attempted to promote Afghanistan's Persian poetry and literature
Persian literature
Persian literature spans two-and-a-half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been lost. Its sources have been within historical Persia including present-day Iran as well as regions of Central Asia where the Persian language has historically been the national language...
.
Political views
Latīf Pedrām is a strong supporter of federalismFederalism
Federalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
and secularism
Secularism
Secularism is the principle of separation between government institutions and the persons mandated to represent the State from religious institutions and religious dignitaries...
in Afghanistan. He denounces corruption and strongly opposes Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
. He advocates an independent, but decentralized Afghanistan, and believes that the country should be divided into autonomous regions under the control of regional capitals.
Although his party is multi-ethnic and is, so far, the only opposition party that is not linked to an armed group, he is regarded by some as a Tajik nationalist politician with a "strong anti-Pashtun tone". The Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan and comprise ca. 40% of the total population. Perhaps his most controversial statement is the demand for a name-change in Afghanistan. In many publications and articles, he proposed the change of the name "Afghanistan" to "Khorasan
Greater Khorasan
Greater Khorasan or Ancient Khorasan is a historical region of Greater Iran mentioned in sources from Sassanid and Islamic eras which "frequently" had a denotation wider than current three provinces of Khorasan in Iran...
", the medieval name of the region, in order to settle some inter-ethnic feuds. His statement is based on the fact that the current name of the country is synonymous with "Land of Pashtuns"
Origins of the name Afghan
The ethnonym Afghan has been used in reference to the Pashtun people during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The name Afghanistan is a derivation from the ethnonym, originally in the loose meaning "land of the Afghans " and referred to the territory inhabited by Pashtun tribes south...
.
Presidential elections 2004
Latīf Pedrām received the 5th most votes during the 2004 elections, with approximately 1.4% of the total ballots counted, and approximately 17% of the ballots in his home province BadakhshanBadakhshan
Badakhshan is an historic region comprising parts of what is now northeastern Afghanistan and southeastern Tajikistan. The name is retained in Badakhshan Province which is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan, in the far northeast of Afghanistan, and contains the Wakhan Corridor...
- being the strongest of the small candidates. Following the outcome, he criticized the government and the results, saying that "large-scale fraud had occurred", which was "completely shameful." Prior to the votes, Latīf Pedrām had argued that the presidential election should be delayed because of insecurity and to arrange for the whole Afghan diaspora to vote.
2008 controversy
In February 2008, an alleged audio recording of Latīf Pedrām was aired by various TV channels in Afghanistan, claiming that Latīf Pedrām had "disrespected" and "insulted" former king of Afghanistan, Amanullah KhanAmanullah Khan
Amanullah Khan was the King of the Emirate of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929, first as Amir and after 1926 as Shah. He led Afghanistan to independence over its foreign affairs from the United Kingdom, and his rule was marked by dramatic political and social change...
, who is regarded as a "national hero" by many in the country. However, In an interview on Khorasan TV he denied this claim and said that his voice was tampered with. This led to hot editorial crossfires among the press and in the Parliament and Cabinet, echoing with ethnic conflicts when ethnic blocks were identified supporting and criticizing Latīf Pedrām. Following this, the government of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
tried banning the National Congress Party of Afghanistan and ordered that "comments about former kings, the president and Jihadi leaders are not allowed." Since the incident, Latīf Pedrām lived under house arrest
House arrest
In justice and law, house arrest is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to his or her residence. Travel is usually restricted, if allowed at all...
in Kabul until November 2008. While expressing its concern regarding the regression of democracy in Afghanistan one year before the 2009 presidential elections, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) called for the unconditional release of Latīf Pedrām.
2009 Presidential election
In January 2009 an article by Aḥmad Madjīdyār of the American Enterprise InstituteAmerican Enterprise Institute
The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943. Its stated mission is "to defend the principles and improve the institutions of American freedom and democratic capitalism—limited government, private enterprise, individual liberty and...
included Pedrām on a list of fifteen possible candidates in the controversial 2009 Afghan Presidential election.
Preliminary results placed Pedrām eleventh in a field of 38 candidates and according to the controversial Independent Election Committee (IEC), he ultimately received 0.34% of the votes. According to IEC results, Pedrām received 6,686 votes in his home province of Badakhshan, considerably lower than the 33,510 votes he received during the 2004 presidential election.
2010 Parliamentary election
In the 2010 Afghan parliamentary electionAfghan parliamentary election, 2010
The Afghan parliamentary election, 2010 to elect members of the Wolesi Jirga took place on 18 September 2010. The Afghan Independent Election Commission - established in accordance with the article 156 of the Constitution of Afghanistan for the purpose of organizing and supervising all elections in...
, Latīf Pedrām received 8469 votes in Badakhshan, being the third representative from that province to be elected into the parliament, after Fowzia Kūfī and Zalmay Mudjadadī.
Awards
Latīf Pedrām has received many international awards, including:- The Prix Hellman-Helmet (Hellman-Helmet Prize) by Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
in July 1999 - A special grant from Reporters sans Frontières in December 1998
He is also an honorary member of:
- The International Parliament of Writers and a guest of the city of SuresnesSuresnesSuresnes is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The nearest communes are Neuilly-sur-Seine, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud and Boulogne-Billancourt...
in France - The "Association of the Persian speakers of the World" ("Peyvand") and member of the board of editors of Peyvand journal
Quotes
External links
- Democracy in Danger: Latif Pedram placed under house arrest
- PBS Frontline: World: Afghanistan Without Warlords, a Secular Politician
- LibertyRadio.org Biography
- An interview with l'Humanité (in English, January 1, 2007)
- Institute for War and Peace Reporting: Abdul Latif Pedram: Intellectual Adds Controversy to Campaign
- National Congress Party of Afghanistan Website
- Tajikam Portal