Babrak Karmal: Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox president |
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|name = Babrak Karmal |
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|image = Babrak Karmal afghan statesman.JPG |
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|imagesize = 220px |
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|order = 5th [[President of Afghanistan]]<br/><small>3rd President of [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]] |
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|primeminister = [[Sultan Ali Keshtmand]] |
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|term_start = 27 December 1979 |
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|term_end = 24 November 1986 |
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|predecessor = [[Hafizullah Amin]] |
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|successor = [[Haji Mohammad Chamkani]] |
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|order2 = 14th [[Prime Minister of Afghanistan]]<br/><small>3rd Prime Minister of [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]] |
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|term_start2 = 27 December 1979 |
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|term_end2 = 11 June 1981 |
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|predecessor2 = [[Hafizullah Amin]] |
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|successor2 = [[Sultan Ali Keshtmand]] |
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|birth_date = {{birth date|1929|1|6|df=y}} |
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|birth_place = [[Kamari]], [[Afghanistan]] |
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|death_date = {{death date and age|1996|12|3|1929|1|6|df=y}} |
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|death_place = [[Moscow]], [[Russia]] |
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|party = [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan]] |
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}} |
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{{History of Afghanistan}} |
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'''Babrak Karmal''' (6 January 1929 – 1 or 3 December 1996) was the third President of [[Afghanistan]] (1979–1986) during the period of the communist [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]. He is the best known of the [[Marxist]] leadership. |
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Having been restored to power with the support of the [[Soviet Union]], he was unable to consolidate his power and, in 1986, he was replaced by Dr. [[Mohammad Najibullah]]. He left [[Afghanistan]] for [[Moscow]], where he died in 1996. |
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==Early years== |
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The son of a well-connected army general and governor (Muhammad Hussein Hashimi), although born into a wealthy family in the village of Kamari (east of [[Kabul]]), Babrak Karmal lived in hardship following the death of his mother. |
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He was an indifferent student in high school and in the law school of [[Kabul University]], quickly gained a reputation as an orator and activist in the university’s student union in 1951. He became involved in Marxist political activities while a student at [[Kabul University]], and was imprisoned for five years as a result. |
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In prison, Karmal was befriended by a fellow inmate, [[Mir Akbar Khyber]]. A third inmate, Mier Mohammad Siddiq Farhang, initiated both to pro-Moscow leftist views. After graduation he entered the Ministry of Planning, keeping in close touch with those who had special knowledge on communism, among them Mier Mohammad Siddiq Farhang and Ali Mohammad Zahma, a professor at Kabul University. |
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==Political career== |
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On 1 January 1965 the [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan]] (PDPA) was founded in Kabul, with Karmal serving as one of its twenty-eight founding members in its founding congress. Karmal was appointed its Secretary. As a result, he was elected and served in the quasi-democratic National Assembly of Afghanistan from 1965 until 1973 during the constitutional monarchy of [[Mohammed Zahir Shah|King Zahir Shah]]. Karmal is known for his revolutionary and open speeches in the parliament against the ruling classes. In most of his parliamentary speeches, Karmal urged the people of Afghanistan to unite and stand up against the ruling classes and fight the status quo. Karmal and a few of his other comrades in the National Assembly, represented the only leftist group at the time. |
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In 1967, when the party split into the [[Khalq]] and the [[Parcham]] factions, Karmal became the leader of the more moderate Parcham faction. When [[Mohammed Daoud Khan]] overthrew the [[monarchy]] and instituted the Republic, Karmal was asked by President Daoud to share power with him. Karmal replied that he needed to consult his with comrades on this issue and inform Daoud later. However, he never returned and did not serve in Daoud's government, though some of the people who did serve eventually assumed important positions in Karmal's government. |
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The factions reunited in 1977, and in April 1978 seized control of Afghanistan through a military coup. Karmal was initially Deputy Prime Minister but, following the rise of the rival Khalq faction, he and other important members of the Parcham faction such as Mohammed Najibullah, Noor Ahmad Noor, [[Anahita Ratebzad]], and Mahmood Baryalai, were essentially exiled by being appointed ambassadors to other countries, while others, such as [[Sultan Ali Keshtmand]], were put in jail. |
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Note may be taken of the fact that Karmal and his Parcham faction, arguing that the country was not yet ready for the socialist transformation of society, opposed any move that would result in the seizure of state power by the PDPA and did not support the military coup that resulted in the overthrow of Daoud's government. Keshtmand, one of the founding members of PDPA, emphasized this in 2002.<ref>Keshtmand, Sultan Ali (2002) ''Yaad daashthaaye Syaasi wa Rooyidaadhaaye Taarikhi'' (''Political Notes and Historical Events'') unknown publication place, unknown publisher, unknown ISBN ; [http://keshtmand.org/ http://keshtmand.org/] site not found 20 January 2008<sup>[[Wikipedia:Citation needed|[Publication information needed]]]</sup></ref> Indeed, the initiative of the coup was taken by Hafizullah Amin himself without the knowledge of the top PDPA leadership. The "order" for the launching of the coup against the Daoud regime was delivered by Amin's son to Amin's military group in the army. |
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The PDPA attempted to modernize the country in line with socialist programs, but there was major unrest. In December 1979 the Soviets invaded Afghanistan and Soviet commandos killed the then leader [[Hafizullah Amin]]. The Soviets brought Karmal back to be President of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Babrak Karmal, exiled leader of the Parcham faction of the PDPA was installed by the Soviets as Afghanistan's new head of government. |
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==President of the Republic== |
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[[Image:Flag of Afghanistan 1980.svg|thumb|Flag of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan during Babrak Karmal's rule. This redesigned flag was a departure from the red flags of the previous two years,reflecting a more "Islamic" and popular design and restoring the historical colors that were common in flags between 1928 and 1978.<ref>{{Citation|title=Encyclopaedia Iranica|last=Borjian|first=Habib|editor-last=Yarshater|editor-first=Ehsan|editor-link=Ehsan Yarshater|contribution=Flags of Afghanistan|contribution-url=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/index.isc?Article=http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articles/unicode/v10f1/v10f103b.html|year=2001}}, retrieved on 9 June 2009</ref>]] |
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In his first radio broadcasts (Listen to the radio broadcast at http://www.afghanland.com/history/karmal.html) Karmal gave hopeful promises. He said that henceforth there would be no [[Execution (legal)|executions]] and that a new [[constitution]] would be drawn up providing for the [[Democracy|democratic]] election of national and local assemblies. He also promised that political parties would function freely and that both personal property and individual [[Freedom (political)|freedom]] would be safeguarded. In particular, he stressed that soon a government representing a united national front would be set up and that it would not pursue socialism. |
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He managed to fulfill some of his promises: the release of some political prisoners; the promulgation of the Fundamental Principles of the [[Democratic Republic of Afghanistan]]; the change of the red, Soviet-style banner of the [[Khalq]] period to the more orthodox one of black, red, and green; the granting of concessions to religious leaders; and the conditional restoration of confiscated property. |
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However, from the beginning, his government did not enjoy international support. The [[United Nations]] General Assembly voted by 104 to 18 with 18 abstentions for a resolution which "strongly deplored" the "recent armed intervention" in [[Afghanistan]] and called for the "total withdrawal of foreign troops" from the country. |
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There were also immediate problems within the party. Karmal was the chosen man of the [[Kremlin]], and no one within the party could openly oppose him. No attempt was made to televise the process by which the official party and the Revolutionary Council elected him head of the party and of the state. |
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Karmal’s poor performance in interviews with foreign journalists also failed to help his public image. In the first and last televised interview of his life, held before a large number of foreign and Afghan journalists after he was raised to power, Karmal divided the journalists on the basis of the [[Cold War]] line distinguishing between the Western bloc and the socialist bloc countries. |
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Thus, the civil war in Afghanistan started. This was a different type of war, however, since it involved guerrilla warfare and a war of attrition between the PDPA-Communist controlled regime and the [[Mujahideen]]; it cost both sides a great deal. Many Afghans, perhaps as many as five million, or one-quarter of the country's population, fled to [[Pakistan]] and [[Iran]] where they organized into guerrilla groups to strike Soviet and government forces inside Afghanistan. |
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Others remained in Afghanistan and also formed fighting groups. These various groups were supplied with funds to purchase arms, principally from the [[United States]], [[Saudi Arabia]], the [[People's Republic of China]], and [[Egypt]]. |
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==Fall from power== |
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<!-- Unsourced image removed: [[Image:Karmal01.jpg|thumb|right|President Karmal with Afghan troops in the frontline. The Afghan Army and Airforce became powerful tools against the insurgency.]] --> |
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The regime ruled only the city of Kabul, the provincial capitals, and those strategic areas where the Soviets and the Afghan Military had stationed military contingents and militia units. Despite high casualties on both sides, pressure continued to mount on the [[Soviet Union]], especially after the [[United States]] brought in [[FIM-92 Stinger|Stinger]] [[anti-aircraft]] missiles which severely reduced the effectiveness of Soviet air cover. |
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[[Moscow]] came to regard Karmal as a failure and blamed him for the problems. Years later, when Karmal’s inability to consolidate his government had become obvious, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]], then General Secretary of the [[Soviet Communist Party]], said, "The main reason that there has been no national consolidation so far is that Comrade Karmal is hoping to continue sitting in Kabul with our help." |
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Additionally, some Afghan troops who had fought for the Communist Government began to defect. In May 1986 he was replaced as party leader by [[Mohammad Najibullah]]. In November 1986, under increasing pressure from Moscow, he stepped down from the presidency, saying that he had heart trouble.<ref name=NYTimesObit>{{Citation|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Babrak Karmal, Afghanistan's Ex-President, Dies at 67|author=Eric Pace|url=http://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/06/world/babrak-karmal-afghanistan-s-ex-president-dies-at-67.html|date=6 December 1996|accessdate=4 June 2009}}</ref> Karmal then moved to Moscow, reportedly for medical treatment.<ref name=WPostObit>{{Citation|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=6 December 1996 Final Edition|title=Ex-Afghan Communist Leader Babrak Karmal Dies at Age 67|url=https://secure.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/10491977.html?dids=10491977:10491977&FMT=FT&FMTS=CITE:FT&fmac=&date=Dec+6,+1996&author=&desc=Ex-Afghan+Communist+Leader+Babrak+Karmal+Dies+at+Age+67|accessdate=9 June 2009}}. (Access to this article on the web requires a payment to The Washington Post.)</ref> He returned to Kabul in 1991 and then spent a few years in Hayratan (Afghanistan). He eventually died in Moscow in 1996 <ref>[http://www.bbc.co.uk/persian/afghanistan/story/2004/12/041220_aa_mdanesh.shtml BBC Persian] Interviews with Babrak Karmal</ref>. |
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==Death== |
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In early December 1996, Karmal died in Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital from [[Hepatocellular carcinoma|liver cancer]]. The date of his death was reported by some sources as 1 December<ref name=NYTimesObit/> and by others as December 3<ref name=WPostObit/>. On 5 December about 200 members of the Afghan community in Moscow attended a memorial service at the Hospital. Most of those in attendance had served in Karmal's Afghan government.{{Citation needed|date=May 2009}} |
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Karmal's body was flown the following day from Moscow to [[Termez]], a city in Uzbekistan that borders Afghanistan. From there it was carried in an ambulance via the "[[Friendship Bridge]]" to [[Hayratan]], the border city on the Afghan side near Termez. Nearly a thousand people from different parts of Afghanistan and from different walks of life were waiting in a very long line to welcome Karmal's body back to Afghanistan. His body was first taken to Hayratan General Hospital where it was put on display for hundreds of people who came to pay their last respects to the man who once was their President. Karmal's body was buried in the Hayratan common graveyard beside the grave of his life-long comrade Imtiaz Hassan, who had earlier died in Moscow and was buried in the Hayratan Graveyard. Films of Karmal's funeral and burial are available.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} |
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When the [[Taliban]] captured Hayratan for a second time in August 1998, Babrak Karmal's body was exhumed from his grave but was soon re-buried in the same grave in presence of some residents (one of whom was a loyal member of Karmal's Parcham faction of the PDPA) of Hayratan contrary to the false belief that his body was thrown into Amu Darya. After the Taliban re-buried Babrak Karmal, some of his comrades residing in Hayratan city went to his grave, opened it and made sure he was there, and then closed it again. Pictures are available.{{Citation needed|date=November 2008}} |
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==Notes== |
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{{Reflist|1}} |
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==External links== |
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{{Commons category|Babrak Karmal}} |
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* [http://www.afghanland.com/history/karmal.html Biography of President Babrak Karmal] |
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{{S-start}} |
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{{S-off}} |
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{{Succession box |
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|before = [[Hafizullah Amin]] |
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|title = [[President of Afghanistan]] |
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|years = 27 December 1979 – 24 November 1986 |
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|after = [[Haji Mohammad Chamkani]] |
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}} |
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{{Succession box |
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|before = [[Hafizullah Amin]] |
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|title = [[Prime Minister of Afghanistan]] |
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|years = 27 December 1979 – 11 June 1981 |
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|after = [[Sultan Ali Keshtmand]] |
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}} |
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{{s-ppo}} |
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{{Succession box |
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|before = [[Hafizullah Amin]] |
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|title = General Secretary of the [[People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan]] |
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|years = 1979–1986 |
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|after = [[Mohammad Najibullah]] |
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}} |
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{{S-end}} |
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{{Heads of state of Afghanistan since 1919}} |
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{{AfghaniPrimeMinisters}} |
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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2010}} |
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{{Persondata <!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]]. --> |
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| NAME = Karmal, Babrak |
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| ALTERNATIVE NAMES = |
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| SHORT DESCRIPTION = |
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| DATE OF BIRTH = 6 January 1929 |
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| PLACE OF BIRTH = [[Kamari]], [[Afghanistan]] |
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| DATE OF DEATH = 3 December 1996 |
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| PLACE OF DEATH = [[Moscow]], [[Russia]] |
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}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Karmal, Babrak}} |
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[[Category:Afghan communists]] |
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[[Category:Cancer deaths in Russia]] |
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[[Category:Communist rulers]] |
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[[Category:Deaths from liver cancer]] |
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[[Category:People involved in the Soviet war in Afghanistan]] |
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[[Category:Presidents of Afghanistan]] |
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[[Category:1929 births]] |
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[[Category:1996 deaths]] |
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[[Category:Afghan prisoners and detainees]] |
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[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Afghanistan]] |
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[[Category:People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan politicians]] |
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[[bg:Бабрак Кармал]] |
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[[de:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[es:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[fa:ببرک کارمل]] |
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[[fr:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[ko:바브락 카르말]] |
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[[id:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[it:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[ml:ബാബ്രക് കാർമാൽ]] |
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[[mr:बब्रक कर्माल]] |
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[[ms:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[nl:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[ja:バーブラーク・カールマル]] |
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[[no:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[ps:ببرک کارمل]] |
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[[pl:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[ru:Кармаль, Бабрак]] |
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[[sv:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[tr:Babrak Karmal]] |
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[[uk:Бабрак Кармаль]] |
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[[zh:巴布拉克·卡尔迈勒]] |
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Revision as of 12:53, 13 November 2010
ALL YOUR PAGE ARE BELONG TO US. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE.