What does anyone know about the communist Democratic Republic of Afghanistan?

[Adi Shankara]

I looked it up, and it seemed like Afghanistan's last best chance for worker's democracy; it was established by Afghan communists with the aid of the Soviets (which they requested, it wasn't imposed), they dismantled the theocracy, and introduced things new to Afghanistan, like women's rights, a ban on labor inequality, and free housing. also, notice something funny about this picture?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/be/Afghan_Crowd_Circa_1980.png/800px-Afghan_Crowd_Circa_1980.png

You would NEVER see this picture today.

does anyone have more info on them?

[Martin Blank]

Personally, I like this image better:

http://www.workers-party.com/images/ppoimages/afghan-women-jalalabad.jpg

(These are women volunteers organized into a militia to defend Jalalabad against the mujahedin.)

I may not have "hailed Red Army", but I sure as hell supported the democratic revolution.

[Sir Comradical]

They should have used state power more ruthlessly.

[TheGodlessUtopian]

They should have used state power more ruthlessly.

Agreed.They should have been very through in their exercisement of the religious fighters.Imagining a stable afganistan is surreal yet back then it was much more a reality then it is now.

[The Vegan Marxist]

Comrade Gowans did a really great article on the Soviet-run Afghanistan through the topic of "Women's Rights". I highly recommend you reading it:

http://gowans.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/women%E2%80%99s-rights-in-afghanistan/

[khad]

Personally, I like this image better:

(These are women volunteers organized into a militia to defend Jalalabad against the mujahedin.)

I may not have "hailed Red Army", but I sure as hell supported the democratic revolution.
The largest Mujahideen offensive of the war was launched at Jalalabad, and it was repelled by the Afghan Army and Jalalabad militia without Soviet help.

[Adi Shankara]

Comrade Gowans did a really great article on the Soviet-run Afghanistan through the topic of "Women's Rights". I highly recommend you reading it:

http://gowans.wordpress.com/2010/08/09/women%E2%80%99s-rights-in-afghanistan/

Good article, but I don't think it was soviet run; the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was independent of the USSR.

[Sir Comradical]

The largest Mujahideen offensive of the war was launched at Jalalabad, and it was repelled by the Afghan Army and Jalalabad militia without Soviet help.

Really? Funny you say that because all I ever heard about the army of the DRA is that they couldn't fight and their soldiers kept running away. Turns out they fought well.

[Crimson Commissar]

The Democratic Republic was definitely the best government that Afghanistan has ever had. Just imagine how much better the region would be today if they had succeeded. A shame that it was destroyed by radical muslims...

[The Vegan Marxist]

Good article, but I don't think it was soviet run; the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan was independent of the USSR.

Very true. Though the PDPA was backed by the USSR, just not run from them.

[bailey_187]

There is a good chapter on it in William Blum's book called Killing Hope

[Adi Shankara]

are there any good books to be recommended that are just on the subject?

[Sankara1983]

Agreed.They should have been very through in their exercisement of the religious fighters.Imagining a stable afganistan is surreal yet back then it was much more a reality then it is now.

It is quite difficult to "exercise state power" when a government's writ extends not far beyond the capital city.

[IndependentCitizen]

Personally, I like this image better:

http://www.workers-party.com/images/ppoimages/afghan-women-jalalabad.jpg

(These are women volunteers organized into a militia to defend Jalalabad against the mujahedin.)

I may not have "hailed Red Army", but I sure as hell supported the democratic revolution.

I bet the mujahideen were pissed that they were fighting women.

Good on them, shame women are greatly oppressed now :(

[Sam_b]

A shame that it was destroyed by radical muslims...

You're obsessed with these apparently homogenised 'radical Muslims' aren't you?

[Sam_b]

But, your asking me how can anyone use te terms you stated, what does how you call islamist pricks who advocate stoning women really matter.

Because it doesn't take any social, economic or political causes into question or context. The Iranian government, for instance, is very different to that of a suicide bomber in Western Europe, and these have causes.


You know why there are hardly any women on the left, its because of men like you who are ok with Religious nutter having bacxkwards views so long as they fight imperialism, buyt then again, your not a woman, so you say ah yes they oppress women, but thats a small thing compared to their anti imperialist stance.

I don't think you have much of a clue about the intrinsities of my political position, or those who are anti-imperialists and supporting the right of Palestinians to defend themselves.

Who are these 'religious nutters'? Are they the reactionary leadership of Hamas, or the thousands of Palestinian workers that organise resistance and claim to be so?


If hamas started treating black people the smae as they treat women, you would be denouncing it as a disgusting racist terror group, but if it just stones women, then thats a price worth paying

When has Hamas been stoning women?


seriously, your absoloutly dispicable for your anti woman stance.

I don't think you have any idea about my politics and are trying to make up for it by using the most ridiculous and unsourced slanders against me. With no proof no less. It's not my problem if you cannot understand whats being said and cannot follow and argument. Perhaps you should start replying rationally rather than being a (pretty poor) troll and labelling people you don't like as 'anti woman' without a shred of evidence.

[khad]

I've never used the term "Islamo-fascist". Though there definitely are some people who would fit with that term, I have never used it to describe anyone on revleft.

Your defense of islam is fucking disgusting. An idea as reactionary and anti-socialist as religion should have no place in left-wing politics. Islam promotes homophobia, sexism, unnecessary violence and absolute devotion to a reactionary dictator god who throws his own creations into the pits of hell for defying his will. If you think that any of those ideas are compatible with socialism, then you're not much of a socialist at all. Whenever I bring up the reactionary ideas of religion, islamophiles like you merely state that radical christians and muslims are "just a minority" and that "the majority of religious people are perfect, wonderful people who never do a thing wrong!". It's fucking pathetic. It doesn't matter how many people deny it, the majority of Christians and Muslims take their religion very seriously and would follow their god no matter what he asked of them. If god existed and he told every religious socialist to abandon their ideology, they would do it, no questions asked. That is how insane religion is. A religious person would go against their own morals and beliefs all because a tyrannous god told them to.
And this is why the USSR correctly understood the Khalq faction as ultraleft and in no way capable of heading the civilian leadership of the DRA.

Funny thing, a lot of them ended up in the Taliban, despite all their professed hatred of Islam.

[Gustav HK]

Well this thead was originally about the "Democratic Republic of Afghanistan", so here is my opinion:

The DRA from the Saur Revolution (our coup, as it actually was) until the Soviet invasion was very progressive, but they did the fatal mistake of trying to impose reforms from above by harsh method, instead of creating movements from below, and being more careful about not to upset religious feelings of the Afghans.

It was not a DoP but a millitary dictatorship as the Dergue in Ethiopia.

Moreover the PDPA government from the start was binding Afghanistan to the USSR, and they probably would have created a Soviet colony (like Cuba), or done some other things, that would have made the country dependent on the Soviet Union.

When the Soviet Union invaded to defend it´s social-imperialist interests, the PDPA government came out openly as a Quisling-government, letting the Soviet invaders oppressing the people, it was supposed to represent and defend. Whatever progressive charecteristics it had before, was now drowned in it´s treachery.

Afghanistan is called the Vietnam of the Soviet Union, and rightly so. Not only because it was a poor country defeating a superpower (with help from the other superpower), but also because just as the US-troops in Vietnam were cruel and ruthless, so were the USSR-troops in Afghanistan.

It is also important to note, that the resistance against the Soviet invasion at the beginning actually had a strong maoist movement (Afghanistan Liberation Organization), and there even was a hoxhaist organizaition (Sholay Jawid).

[Adil3tr]

They should have used state power more ruthlessly.
Those are dangerous words, especially to an outside observer.

I find this whole thing fascinating, a muslim country going socialist.

[Sir Comradical]

Those are dangerous words, especially to an outside observer.

I find this whole thing fascinating, a muslim country going socialist.

Socialist revolutions face the harshest reactions. So yes, sometimes it's necessary to get your hands dirty. The Cheka executed tens of thousands of people eventually annihilating the reaction, if they didn't they would have failed. Violence is necessary.

[khad]

Those are dangerous words, especially to an outside observer.

I find this whole thing fascinating, a muslim country going socialist.
People like Najibullah today are still respected for being good Muslims. For the last time, socialist Afghanistan was not against Islam, only against US/Pakistan/China-backed reactionary Saudi Wahhabi-style Islam.

I'm splitting all the bullshit flaming into another thread. Snipe at each other from there, because this is a thread on the PDPA.

[Adil3tr]

The Democratic Republic was definitely the best government that Afghanistan has ever had. Just imagine how much better the region would be today if they had succeeded. A shame that it was destroyed by radical muslims...

You just have to be a douche, don't you?

[Red Commissar]

What was the economic policy of Afghanistan during this time? I'd imagine before then the economy was mostly sustenance farmers or petit-bourgeoisie who owned small shops in the towns.