BSA and its impacts on Afghanistan

The newly inaugurated Afghan Government, which is led by President Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai, rushed in signing the Afghan-US Bilateral Agreement. Though, after signing the agreement, President Ghani assured Afghan Citizens and the neighboring and regional countries that the BSA would not be against the national interest of the country and the region, but only assurance cannot convince Afghan Nation, for the reasons below:

Were the demands and articles of ex-president Karzai added to the agreement? And were those articles and demands accepted?

Were the 31 articles, which were prepared by the consultative Loya Jirga, added to the agreement?

In fact, the context of the agreement distributed to the members of consultative Loya Jirga was not acceptable for any Afghan Citizen, even the ones that accepted the BSA. to be signed had their own provisions and conditions. Even those conditions are not added to the agreement, and there is only some literal word changes made in Pashto and Dari versions of the agreement.

Overall, it is one of those types of agreements that are signed between weak and strong governments, which did not think of the balance between the national interests of both the countries. It is called an agreement between a dominant and recessive government.

In fact, the agreement paved the way for long term military existence of US and NATO in Afghanistan, which will be the main factor for long term war in the country, and their so-called legitimate reason of military existence in the country will be struggle against terrorism. From historical perspective, this agreement will be one of those historical challenging agreements that still Afghanistan suffers from.

 

The factors of rush in signing the agreement

The demands of ex-president Karzai and the demands of the consultative Loya Jirga held on 24 November 2013, which were not included in the agreement, caused disappointment of the Afghans that were agreed to the agreement to be signed.

Most of analysts believe that the corruption, delaying the presidential election was conspiracy of US and it decided to create a weak government in Afghanistan, divide power among two groups. US believed that if there is a strong government created in Afghanistan, instead of signing the agreement, it will ask US for the account of the lost that Afghanistan faced in last few years. And even if the agreement is signed the Afghan Government will force US to implement the promises that they have done to the Afghan Government. But with a weak government, the Afghan Governmental Officials will be busy with their internal challenges, and US will be able to implement its plans in Afghanistan.

The main purpose of the rush in signing the agreement was that the Afghan Government will not be able to raise their voice about the demands of the consultative Loya Jirga and Karzai’s demands from US Because Karzai’s deny from signing the agreement caused many Afghans to point out the negative impacts of the agreement for Afghanistan.

 

Conditions of Consultative Loya Jirga for Signing BSA

The conditions and demands that were prepared by the consultative Loya Jirga are not included to the agreement. After the demands and conditions of the Loya Jirga, while ex-president Karzai presented his demands and conditions for signing the agreement with US and denied from signing it; most of the media that are supported by foreigners were just advertising that the Loya Jirga accepted the agreement, but they ignored the conditions that the Loya Jirga demanded.

Though the Loya Jirga could not represent all the Afghan Nation, but still they had 31 articles for signing the agreement. And some of the members of the Loya Jirga, in their interviews with media, said that if these 31 articles are not included in the agreement, it is not acceptable for any Afghan.

First of all, it was written in the resolution of the Loya Jirga that the statements of president Karzai are acceptable for all the members of the Loya Jirga specially: immediate actions for peace in the country, improvement of the security condition in the country, immediate suspension of attacks and searching civilian houses by foreign forces, honesty of US in the Afghan-US friendship, and some more that are included in four extra articles of the resolution provided by the Loya Jirga. And the main purpose of the agreement is to bring peace to the country; but in last one year US did not do anything for bringing peace into the country.

The 28 more articles of the resolution for signing the agreement were as below:

1. Emphasizing on the resolution provided by the consultative Loya Jirga and the promises done by the US which none of them was implemented.
2. International Community has to support Afghanistan until a time that it stands on its feet, and becomes independent.
3. Strictly respecting the holy religion of Islam, and social and cultural norms of Afghans.
4. Accelerating the peace process, and inter-Afghan negotiation, through which all the nation become united and live peacefully, which the US didn’t do it in the past.
5. In the 25^th article of the BSA there should be a paragraph added to guaranty both the parties for bringing peace to the country, because US did not mention anything that guaranty its promises to the Afghan Government.
6. If US implemented its promises on time, then the Afghan Government can use the BSA as the source of expansion of relationship between Afghanistan and US.
7. With respect to the value of the agreement, the difference in the English, Pashto and Dari contexts of the agreement, and the mistake in Pashto and Dari contexts of the agreement should be corrected. The dumbness of expressions like: terrorism, attack, agreement, limitations of bases should be removed, for the explanation of these terms there should be legal definition of these concepts.
8. There should be a mechanism built for the prosecution of US soldiers, who commit crimes in Afghanistan, and there should be Afghans in the prosecution process, and the US should pay the financial expenses.
9. For being just about the prosecution, to the extent it is possible, the prosecution should be in Afghanistan, and under any circumstances US is not allowed to have their prisons in Afghanistan or hold the management of any prison in Afghanistan.
10. Military operations and searching civilian houses is not allowed, and President Obama’s letter to ex-president Karzai, in which Obama ensured Karzai that searching houses will stop under specific conditions, should be attached to the agreement.
11. For the economic development, US forces should contract with Afghan companies.
12. US should pay attention for training Afghan forces, especially air forces, and there should be such mechanisms built that guarantee the equipment of Afghan forces, about which there are nonbinding promises given in the agreement.
13. The authority of building new utilities and transferring the existing areas and utilities should be in the hand of Afghan president. The facilities build by US army should be with high quality, and they should stop building temporary facilities.
14. In shared military facilities, the existence of US forces should be only for the purpose of training and technical assistance of Afghan forces.
15. It should be predicted in the agreement that the US forces cannot use internet, telecommunication of the country for their intelligence, and they are not allowed to use these facilities against Afghan citizens.
16. The Afghan foreign policy should be based on a friendly neighborhood. Under any circumstances the agreement cannot be against these policies, and US cannot use Afghan land for any military mission against any other country.
17. In the first part of the 26^th article of the draft of the agreement it was mentioned; “… the agreement is available up to 2024 and after that …”; but according to the fourth article of the resolution of the consultative Loya Jirga, they have a condition that the agreement will be valid up to ten years and after ten years it shall be expired, the agreement will be signed as the one between two independent countries and there should be balance in the interests of both the countries.
18. With paying attention to the land and airspace, and sovereignty of the country, the airspace control of the country should be handed over to Afghanistan.
19. The entrance and exit of US military and civilians from the borders of the country should be specified as soon as possible.
20. The policies for transaction, exchange, and expenses of money should be prepared as soon as possible.
21. Civilians, judiciary and other US related officials that are not related to the US military, and are busy with commerce in the country, should pay taxes to the Afghan Government.
22. If in regular activities or military operations of US any Afghan civilian, or the one who lives in Afghanistan and accept the Afghan rules and regulations, caused any transferrable and non-transferrable, agricultural, livestock, or by means lost, as soon as possible the US army should pay them with justice.
23. The list of diplomatic, political, military, and economic reaction in the case of any foreign attack or attempt of such activities should be provided as soon as possible.
24. The members of the Loya Jirga emphasized on the protection of environmental pollution, not using chemical, biological and atomic items, and asked the government to strictly prohibit the usage and burial of atomic items in the country.
25. They also said that there should be a part added to the seventh article about the protection and safety of minerals, underground resources, valuable pearls, and the historical statues and icons of the country.
26. If US does not follow its promises, at the beginning the Afghan Government will cancel the privileges to the US and due to the existing conditions, it will find other ways for the replacement.
27. For the implementation of the BSA. the relevant source of the Afghan Government should be executive branch (central government), National Security Council, or the ministry of foreign affairs.
28. The members of the Loya Jirga demanded the immediate submission of 19 Afghan prisoners that are imprisoned in Guantanamo Prison.

The End