The Drum of Democracy is played once again this year!

This year when the attacks of Taliban under the name of the Kochies or nomads began again in Behsood, Sharistan and Nahoor districts of Hazarajaat and forced many families to abandon their houses, the governmental officials still play their drum of democracy and make namely commissions to solve this dispute which do not function well.

Last year in these days when the Kochies attacked Hazarajaat by the direct support of the Taliban and president’s team, Academy of Art and Cinema Education produced a documentary film on this issue titled; “The drum of democracy” and screened in this center.

This documentary compared the current policies of Karzai administration like playing a drum that is interesting from outside and far distances and when you approach it, it pierces the ears and that is the drum of democracy they play for the people of the world and talk of democracy in the country and when we see the issues nearer from inside, it is just a deceiving sound of drum for the people outside and the international community.

This documentary compares the two sides of Karzai administration’s policies which protects the Taliban as a potential supportive ethnic, under the name of democracy in one side while on the other side this administration disarm the other non-Pashtoon people under the name of democracy and arms the Taliban by the name the kochies or nomads.

This documentary contains clear images of the displaced people, the burnt houses and farms and the panic that is overshadowing the area of Behsood after the Taliban attacked under the name of Kochies to this district, some people are interviewed also.

The director of this documentary entered Behsood and filmed this documentary after the Taliban Kochies temporarily retreated from the area, where still the sounds of gun shooting is heard from far away but they did not go to the front line of the Taliban kochies.

This film questions the current definition of democracy that exists in Afghanistan and asks if democracy is only for the protection of the Taliban when the president says; “in democracy every one has the right to participate in social-political decision makings of the country, even including the Taliban who are discontented with the government” or it has to be realized in bigger aspects in which all the citizens would be able to share their opinions on the important decision makings in the country, in which equality would be the norm when the rights of all citizens are being discussed, in this case no one want the Taliban back on power.

This documentary also raises many questions like; how is democracy defined in Afghanistan? Do we really have democracy in Afghanistan? Is it the democracy that the people were looking for or is it for the favor of only a specific group of people? If it is the real democracy then why no one hears the voices of people? In which democracy is it recommended to support a specific group of people against the others?

It also asks the president, if Afghanistan will be prosperous with the Taliban back on the power and then it brings the examples of five years of Taliban regimes sovereignty and asks why the current government again supports and protects those Taliban; will the Taliban help the reconstruction process of the country while they do not have anything else except killing, terrifying and intimidation in their five years period of ruling the country? Will not support of the Taliban by the name of Kochies harm the identity of the poor Kochies? Aren’t the Kochies themselves the poor - kept and misfortunate people who are misused by the Pashtoon politicians? Then if the government does not support either of the sides, it won’t be difficult to solve this dispute; it is what in this documentary discussed.

It is to say that last year in these days, some of the television channels also made some programs and documentaries about this dispute for instance Shamshad television took the side of the Kochies and defended them in this dispute while in “drum of democracy” documentary neither of the Hazaras or the Kochies is being blamed for the dispute but this reality is depicted that the Kochies are the poor, depressed and oppressed people who are being misused as object of dispute by the Pashtoon rulers in order to reach to their political goals, that is the role of a documentary film.

Finally this documentary reaches to say, considering the last decades of oppression when some specific ethnic groups were under pressure of the different regimes, if the real democracy exists now, the government should rather work for the social justice and the unity of different ethnics of the whole nation so that there won’t be any ethnic clashes because no one wants civil wars anymore in this land.

What happened to “Opium War”?

a scene of Opium War (Photo from Barmak Film website)

A: Do you know something about Afghanistan?
B: Is it not the country where there is always war and the people plant opium and …..

Oh, how shameful I am when people know my country with these identifications!

Opium, drugs and war are the terrifying words that are written on the forehead of Afghanistan as identification marks in the recent years instead of the good things which also exist in this country from years back.

And if you ask about the cinema of Afghanistan, most of people name Osama the Afghan feature film that won some international awards, which is also a bad title for identification of Afghan cinema because if its similarity with Osama Bin Laden

These three words, “war, opium and Osama” reminds me of the title of an Afghan feature film that was in post-production last year by the director of Osama, Siddiq Barmak.

Opium War poster (from Barmak Film website)

Last year I read about production and post production of Opium War the second feature film by Siddiq Barmak the Golden Globe winning Afghan director, in one of Kabul’s weekly papers but then I didn’t hear anything about its premiere, award winning and media banging like this director’s first feature film Osama.

Osama Siddiq Barmak's Golden Globe awards winning film

Possibly it was premiered or won many awards may be I didn’t hear anything about it?!

I am curious to know about what happened to this film because it is important to know what happens to the second and third films of a Golden Globe Award winning Afghan director.

On the set of Opium War (photo from Barmak Film website)

Since I read about post production of “Opium War” at the end of 2007, I kept following the news of international cinema events, awards and festivals to hear how this film glitters in these festivals but so far nothing I heard about Opium War while almost one year passed from its production; in none of the awards and festivals such as; Golden Globe Awards2008, Berlin International Film Festival 2008 and Cannes International Film Festival 2008 Opium War is not heard but I still expect this film for the 65th Venice International Film Festival in 2008 within next two months.

Why it was not premiered yet in Kabul or why wasn’t it sent to international film festivals of the world yet?
Is this film not ready for premiere after one year from its post production?
Was it not eligible to enter these film festivals? And why didn’t it bomb in the media as Osama the first film of this director did? Is it because of Mohsen Makhmalbaf’s role?
Or there could be some reasons beyond it?

Seddiq Barmak and his multi - national crew members on the set (photo from Barmak Film website)

During the production of this film, as it was revealed in one of papers in Kabul in August 2007, the story of this film is about crash of a helicopter of the American forces in the middle of an opium field in Afghanistan and continues with friendship and relationships of these injured soldiers with the local people after they are being helped by them and ……(But I am not sure if it is the story of the film or not)

On the set of Opium War (photo from Barmak Film website)

Some people say, lately Siddiq Barmak and Mohsen Makhmalbaf the world known Iranian director have broken their friendship while in Barmak’s first feature Osama that won a Golden Globe award, Mohsen Makhmalbaf had the main advising role for Barmak and supporting role for the marketing and media coverage of the film, thus feature Osama was a success and won many awards including Golden Globe.

Siddiq Barmak

A couple of months ago, when welcoming Rakhshan Bani Etimad the Female Iranian director to Second Take International Film Festival of Kabul Barmak has indirectly blamed some Iranian filmmakers for taking advantages from Afghanistan and misusing the Afghans with untrue stories that scorn the dignity of Afghans in their films and reflect wrong information about Afghanistan to the world, which he meant Mohsen Makhmalbaf who made many feature and short films within Afghanistan or about Afghanistan.

In early 2007 Makhmalbaf and other crew members of his film were attacked with hand grenade by unknown people in Saripol city north of Afghanistan when filming his latest film in Afghanistan, “The two legged horse” then some crew members were wounded and they stopped filming in Afghanistan.

Barmak on the set of Opium War (photo from Barmak Film website)

This time the second project of Barmak is done without Makhmalbaf’s interference and support, which could have caused its postpone or may be failure but still it may be early to judge about it, so lets wait for the time that reveals the truth.

But it really teases me when I see even our cinema is so touchy and vulnerable that it can not stand and progress without hands from outside; which are sometimes the hands of friendship and sometimes the hands of malevolence and enmity .

This is the news item that I read in cinema page of Kabul Weekly in August of last year.

KABUL WEEKLY, Wednesday, August 15 2007

“Opium War is in post-production and will be soon ready for premiere”

Opium War the second feature film of famous Afghan filmmaker Seddiq Barmak is going to be ready for premiere.

As said by Barmak, the film is washed in Almata Kazakistan about a month ago and it will be edited in Tajikistan which takes a period of thirty to forty days and then the final version will be printed in Madras India.

Barmak says when the film is ready; it will be premiered first in Kabul for the Afghan people.

Then Barmak plans to introduce it to two or three international film festival including Cannes in France.

The filming began in June 24th near Karkar coal mine in the north of Afghanistan and it took fifty days.

The multi-national crew for the second feature film of world known Afghan director was composed of Russian cinematographer, Indian make up artist, Iranian sound director* and Tajik set designer in addition to Afghans.

Barmak expects to premiere his second feature by mid September this year. (Kabul Weekly)

Lost Paradise or The Last Survivor?!

A short documentary about the world's tiniest minority; the last Jew in Afghanistan


Zaki Merzaie a young Afghan filmmaker has newly made a short documentary film and screened it in Kabul.

This documentary film is about the life of “Zebulon Simanto”, the last and the only Afghan Jew living in Afghanistan.

This Afghan Jew, the only survivor of a religion in a country that makes the tiniest minority in the world who can be recorded in Guinness World Record book lives in an old synagogue in Kabul.

Zaki Merzaie the director of this film

Lost Paradise is the title of this documentary and it depicts Afghanistan a lost paradise for the religious and ethnic minorities who have been under pressure or have been eliminated and are now extinct in this country while the foreign (Pakistani Pashtoons) suicide bombers look for their paradise in Afghanistan and kill the people of this land along with themselves in suicide attacks.

The religious and ethnic minorities have always been abased and kept under pressure by the ruling governments in Afghanistan especially when the Islamic fundamentalism is mixed with tribal customs and makes it easy to misuse the religion against the non-Muslim religious minorities then they have no more their homes that is their paradise in which they have lived for centuries.
This film could be titled The Last Survivor too, as it is about the last Jew in a country.

The director in this film, along with showing Zebulon Simanto’s loneliness and his not so good situation as the last survivor of the Jews in Afghanistan, talks on the history of the Jews in Afghanistan, their living places, the number of population, the number of synagogues they had, how they have been exterminated from Afghanistan by immigrating to Israel and other western countries.

This short documentary in addition to talk on history of Jewry and Buddhism in Afghanistan of before Islam, narrates on how religious and ethnic discriminations, tribal and ethnic incursions have purged the ethnic and religious minorities in the country; religion have been misused as a tool for the genocide and population extinction and compulsory migration of minorities and for decades ethnicity was a mark for distinction and excellence for the major ethnic.

The Jews of Afghanistan, who mostly lived in Herat, have a long history in this land, but after the establishment Israel in 1948, most of them have moved there. Some of them have left Afghanistan during the Russian invasion in 1979 and the last groups of jew families left the country after overthrown of communist government and empowerment of Mujahedeen (Islamist warlords) in early 1990 the rest were forced to leave the country; as a result “Zebulon Simanto” and Yitzhak Levy were the two last remaining Jews in Afghanistan whose family have already moved to Israel years ago.

Until Yitzhak Levy died in 2005 they were the only Afghan Jews, living in Afghanistan who have remained there in all time and were many times imprisoned and tortured by the Taliban, but then now “Zebulon Simanto” is the only Afghan Jew who still lives in an old synagogue in Kabul.

Zaki Merzaie sends his documentary film to international film festivals to introduce the tiniest minority of the world.

As said by Merzaie, because of lack of a proper sales and distribution system for films in Afghanistan, the filmmakers have no choice than selling the distribution rights of their films below the budget they spend on them for the distributors of CDs and DVDs, so Zaki Merzai has done the same as others do.

It is to add that the Afghan Hindus and the Sikhs are also one of the religious minorities who live for more than two centuries in Afghanistan and have often been discriminated, especially during the Taliban they were under badly pressures and with compulsory displacements and imprisonment for their religion.

Afghan Sikhs running their businesses in Kabul

Lost Paradise is made while Hassan Nazeri, another Afghan filmmaker and professor in fine Arts faculty of Kabul University, have started filming of his documentary about the Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who are a religious and ethnic minority in Afghanistan.

Karzai shoots in the air!

Threatening Pakistan is just a slogan for Karzai’s electoral campaign!

Within a few last days different things have taken place in Afghanistan. It worth to write on the most important items a few lines;

Karzai threatened Pakistan

Returning back from donors’ conference of Paris appearing in a press conference in Kabul, Karzai threatened to attack Taliban in Pakistan if this country does not stop them. Arguing that when the Pakistani Taliban come to destroy Afghanistan, why shouldn’t the Afghan Army attack these Taliban in their caves in Pakistan to defend them Karzai said that Afghanistan has changed and is not the same as a few years back.

Karzai statement was reflected in the national and international media and press and had the reaction of Pakistan prime minister after and the Afghan ambassador in Pakistan was summoned by the foreign ministry of Pakistan.

This was the regional reflection and consequences of Karzai’s threats to Pakistan.
In the national level also, for two days, it was the heading titles of all daily and weekly papers in Afghanistan.

Although it is obvious for all that Pakistan is directly involved in supporting the Taliban, but Karzai direct and threatening statements to this country will not make the situation better but arouses the different groups of tribal areas to be united against Afghanistan and the results will be more human and logistical supports for the Taliban.

Karzai says this, while he is completely aware of the strength and capability of his new born army ANA; The army that is suffering from ethnic discriminations, lack of enough trainings and equipments and lack of disciplines.
ANA is said to have 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers and officers, while in reality the number is less than this and the training they have is not enough and then, there is a high number of escapes of the soldiers as well as a lot of betrayals for the favor of Taliban which makes it weak against the Taliban within Afghanistan, but how can it fight against them in Pakistan?
Therefore instead of shooting in the air, it would be better to solve the problems that exist within the army and stop those betrayals of the soldiers and officers (who sell classified information of ANA to ISI and army of Pakistan), this way the country would be safer and there would be less peril of Taliban’s attacks.

On the other hand, in this important time when the people live in poverty as a result of rapid raise of costs of food, and most of grain products like flour and wheat and oil is imported from Pakistan, this may cause more pressures of Pakistan on food import from this country.

But if we deeply see it, it seems only a shooting in the air for the electoral campaign as well as hiding the coverage of the other important latest news in the country.

“I wish Taliban were my soldiers”: Karzai

Just a couple of weeks ago, in his interview with German Spiegel paper Karzai wished the Taliban were his soldiers, which was reflected in the media and was criticized by many people.

By that saying Karzai wanted to attract Taliban and Hekmatyar, and then later after he released Hekmatyar’s spokesperson from jail apparently Hekmatyar rejected Karzai’s invitation for negotiation and the Taliban did not show interest for the negotiation either, being hopeless from three sides; dissatisfaction of the International community and the Afghan people for the existing of corruption in his administration that weakens the government, rejection of negotiations by the Taliban, therefore he needed another bang to draw the attentions as well as to overshadow two other important news items of the country;

1- The biggest package of drug in the world seized in Afghanistan

Just a few days ago, more than 200 tons of hashish was seized by the Afghan police, army with the help of coalition forces in Kandahar that was the world’s largest package of drugs seized at once.

This was a very interesting item for follow up by the curious media and press which could reveal bigger secrets behind it; the hands of president’s family members with drug Mafia in Afghanistan. Therefore, Karzai stated harsh words against Pakistan to overshadow the news of the biggest drug packages of the world.

2- Escape of prisoners by the help of Taliban from Kandahar prison

Attacking on the biggest jail of Kandahar in overnight forty Taliban gunmen destroyed that gate of the jail, killed the police guards and released more than one thousand prisoners one third of who are their members.
This is also something planned with the help of the corrupted provincial administration that is appointed by the president.

This news is also of a high importance for the Afghans as well as for the international community to know how their efforts are being spoiled by a group of drug and embezzlement Mafia within the team of president Karzai.

As the reports of media and press show, before the Taliban were released in smaller numbers whether by the decrees of President Karzai or by the intercede of Sebghatullah Mujadadi and his Taliban Strengthening Commission but now as the elections are approaching, they are released in bigger numbers and by different ways, so attack on Kandahar is one of the new ways of process of release of the Taliban by the help of Karzai’s family and his team.

The media and press family lost another member in Afghanistan!

Samad Ruhani left the family of media these days

Ajmal Naqshbandi did it last year, in the same province, Helmand

A journalist is killed, but many voices were suffocated and the eyes of many are blinded

The people who can not tolerate Samad, Ajaml or Zakia Zaki, are not the winner but the looser by killing them!

Because they are at their dead-end when their weapons are terror and killing.

From either side they are; whether from the government side or the Taliban, they have done cruelty by murdering a journalist.

For the murderers things still go on the same and even better than before when their cruelty is covered and there is no eye of media on what they do,

But for people, who need Samad, Ajmal, Zakia Zaki and others like them to reflect their voices to the others in the world, will suffer, lack and miss them.

Condemning the murder of Samad Ruhani BBC journalist by unknown group of people in Helmand Province, let’s present our condolences to his family and relatives and to the other journalists of country and ask the government of Afghanistan to find and trial the murderers of this young journalist.

Read the news item here: BBC Journalist killed in Helmand Province of Afghanistan

Cinema is idolatrous in this territory!

Herat the historical city of art and culture or perhaps the hireling owners of the religion could not tolerate a cinema hall in this city?!!

The only cinema hall that was constructed after almost 16 years in Herat was again closed by Shoraye Ulama “the Religious Council” the day after its opening.

Historical city of Herat as the symbol of ancient and contemporary arts in Afghanistan, was hosting only one cinema hall during the time of communist government and it was closed after the victory of Mujahedeen in 1992 and then during the time of Taliban regime, they destroyed it and built a mosque and a government office instead on the land property of the cinema.

This recently built cinema hall was built by investment of private sector in this city to support and promote the film products of the local filmmakers who have been producing significant number good films in these years.

After collapse of the Taliban, many efforts were made to convince the new government authorities for the issuance of license for a cinema hall in this city, but none of the authorities cared about arts and culture while there was need of such places first for projection of the locally produced films while the Herati filmmakers are more active than the filmmakers of the other cities and then the need for positive entertainment centers for the youth and families.

Shoraye Ulama banned the operation of this cinema hall and closed it down arguing that cinema and film industry is something taboo and illegal according to Islam so the existence of this cinema in the city is against the Islamic values.
This saying of the Shoraye Ulama was appreciated by the president of information and cultural department in this province.

Karim Khoram, the fundamentalist Minister of Information and Culture

Being responsible for promoting culture, the department of information and culture of Herat should not have acknowledged this nonsense decision of Shoraye Ulama, but when in national level the minister of culture himself announces enmity with free media and television channels by banning their programs and charging them for broadcasting / telecasting certain programs we should not expect better behavior his subordinate of departments with the media.

Shoraye Ulama of Herat:

Shoraye Ulama or the religious council of Herat is consisting of some extremist people who think they are the owners of the religion.
This council is led by Maulavi Khodadaad Saleh an extremist fundamentalist figure who was holding the same seat in Herat during the time of Taliban regime when the only cinema building was destroyed, that means the Taliban still have their agents in different provinces to influence people by the name of religion.

Although religion is an important part of life of people in Afghanistan but misusing the religion for personal or political purposes damage the life of people and stop the development process of the people.

Malavi Khodadad Saleh Head of Shoraye Ulama of Herat - Photo from: BBCPERSIAN.COM

Who support Shoraye Ulama and why?

When dissatisfactory from the current administration increases among the people, the insufficient administration applies pressures on people by using different tools for this purpose.
Religion is one of the tools that can be used very well against the people to stop their progress and development.
Censorship for suffocating free media is another useful tool for insufficient administrations to cover its insufficiency and control the people’s anger. Working for enlightening people free media plays a significant role in between the people and the governing administration, thus the improvement of free media can be turned as an apposing tool in the hand of people against the governing administration.
Based on this formula Shoraye Ulama is exactly supported and defended by the current insufficient administration to barrier the people using the name of religion and calm down their rage.

This way Karzai administration uses the religious hirelings to achieve their goals; controlling the people and suffocating the media to cover their insufficiency.
Shoraye Ulama of Herat existed with the same structure during the Taliban and it exists the same way now, and knowing about this reality Karzai administration supports it as their servants for their political purposes; based on this fact, we come to the point that Karzai administration supports a Taliban structure in the second largest and modern city of Afghanistan, it means they are obviously promoting and supporting Talibanism.

To be honest, no one knows where Karzai wants to drive the country with the current circus show he presents to people, by one hand he plays the drum of, modernization, democratization, freedom, justice and equality by the other hand he suffocates the voices of freedom and destroys democratization process by supporting the extremist fundamentalists and using them against the people for his own power.

Regarding Herat also he has an indirect role, when Shoraye Ulama oppose opening of a cinema hall and Karzai administration supports them, it means that Karzai opposes opening of a cinema in this city.

New Italia

It is said that an image worth a thousand words, let's see how it works!

In New Italia

I don’t write any thing in this regard!
I just let my small scissors cut the pieces of reality to paste in this blog.

Because I heard that; an image works as a thousand words or an image worth a thousand words.

Perhaps, this time, instead of a pen, scissors has had something to say, by cutting and pasting the pieces of reality already available on the papers and then to put in this blog.

So, therefore, when I found some interesting images, I asked the help of scissors to cut them for me to put them in this blog, but I myself keep quite and say nothing, to see if it is true that; an images worth a thousand words!?

Now, by seeing these images, you must know the rest, I assume.