Afghans mark 30th anniversary of Soviet withdrawal

KABUL: Hundreds of Afghans, who said they are families of war victims, gathered at the Loya Jirga tent in Kabul on Friday to mark the 30th anniversary of Soviet troops withdrawal from Afghanistan.

The speakers of the ceremony said the past years’ gains should be protected in any process which will help the country to move towards peace. “There are lots of people who have misused the sacrifices of martyrs. They should know that the heirs of the martyrs will stand on their own feet after this,” said Attaullah Safi, member of a newly-founded forum on war victims’ families.

One speaker at the ceremony said they represent thousands of Afghans who lost their lives during the Soviet-Afghan war. “My first demand and expectation on behalf of the forum is a lasting peace and a peace with dignity,” said Abdul Razaq Bashardost, an organizer of the event.

Those who attended the event said they want a bigger role in the peace process and that they support elections, democracy, and peace in the country. Meanwhile, Abdul Wahid Qatali, head of the Administrative Office of the President, said the last big mission of President Ghani is to make the country stable and leave a sustainable Afghanistan for the next generation.

Thirty years ago – today – 15 February 1989, the former Soviet Union announced its complete withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan, ending a nine-year war that claimed the lives of millions of Afghans. In 1979 the Soviet Union entered then neighboring Afghanistan in the hope of shoring up the newly-established pro-Soviet regime in Kabul. Quickly almost 100,000 Soviet Union soldiers took control of major cities and highways around the country, but war soon broke out with the rise of the Mujahideen.

The war lasted nine years and, in that time, an estimated one million civilians, including children, were killed, along with 90,000 Mujahideen fighters, more than 20,000 Afghan troops and over 14,000 Soviet soldiers.

Marking the anniversary, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Thursday on Twitter that “Feb 15 marks the end of the Soviet Union occupation of Afghanistan. Since the invasion, Afghans have paid a heavy price in life and treasure. I pay tribute to the Afghan nation in the fight against the Soviets and to those who have lost their lives during and after the withdrawal.

“But none of that has broken our resolve as a nation to invest in and to rebuild our country together. In the same spirit, we must be self-reliant economically to achieve full independence. “I, therefore, encourage all Afghans to stand behind government’s reforms agenda to increase our productivity and economic growth in order to restore a nation free of war and instability for our future generations,” he said.