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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
AFGHANISTAN: Interview with Afghan deputy defence minister
KABUL, 24 April 2003 (IRIN) - Security remains a pivotal issue in the reconstruction of Afghanistan. With security threats persisting and international peacekeeping forces restricted to the confines of the Afghan capital, Kabul, the only real hope for the Afghan people lies in a well organised, multiethnic national army, capable of ending local warlordism while creating direct links between the capital and the country's volatile provinces.
But while there have been some achievements towards achieving this goal, many are asking why this internationally supported effort is still in its infancy. In an interview with IRIN, Gen Atiqullah Baryalai, the Afghan deputy defence minister and head of the commission for the creation and rehabilitation of the Afghan National Army (ANA), talked about some of the challenges ahead.
QUESTION: Why has the process of establishing the ANA been so slow?
ANSWER: We are following a slow programme in the creation of the ANA that has been designed and proposed by the United States of America, which is a leading country in helping us. This programme is only limited to the training of soldiers for a central military division in Kabul and, according to our deadline, it will have been completed before the elections of 2004. It is fixed on a particular time frame and will be completed before elections.
However, we had proposed to the donors, mainly the UN and US, to start the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration, DDR, of former combatants and police reform [to proceed] parallel to this process, but our idea was not supported. If we had done this, we would have achieved considerable progress. Unfortunately, we are endeavouring to create a national army at a time when no step has been taken on wiping out local powers. In short, they [the local powers] are getting empowered while the ANA is in its infancy.
Q: Are you concerned over 170,000-armed people registered in your ministry who will not be playing any role in the new army?
A: It does not mean we are neglecting the mujahidin [combatants]. Those who can meet our requirements will be recruited into the national army, and a great number of them that cannot meet our standards will be introduced to the DDR commission, which will provide them with sustainable careers. As ratified by the Afghan government, the number of troops in the army will not exceed 70,000. Therefore, a huge number of former combatants will have to be demobilised.
Q: How do you structure the new army while most of Afghan military cadres are influenced by former Soviet doctrine?
A: Afghanistan is a member of the international community, and its army will be structured [according to criteria] based on the needs of the time, as well as the lessons and experiences of modern armies. To a certain degree, we will have a similar structure to other international forces.
As far as the personnel is concerned, until we have analytical and exact data on all the statistics needed, we prefer a volunteer recruitment programme for the time being. The military service will be for four years, after which a soldier can either rejoin civil life or extend his military service for another four years.
Q: Have there been any problems with the defence ministry and ANA?
A: An army which is being established from the ground up of course has shortcomings in command, activities, logistics or coordination. Yes, there have been problems in coordination, but we have undertaken measures to ensure the necessary coordination with coalition countries led by the United States and the Afghan defence ministry regarding the activities and movements of the ANA.
Q: What will be the role of the ANA in ensuring security? Will it play a role in policing or not?
A: In the short-term plans, the ANA will help in ensuring security, disarmament and enforcing of the law, while in the long term the ANA is prepared and designed to defend the national interests of Afghanistan and repulse any foreign interferences.
Q: Can the ANA ensure security while a national police force does not exist in the country?
A: I believe that all the institutions of a country should be strengthened to ensure better security and stability. The cultural, economic, social, constitutional and other sectors are all linked to each other. To achieve a more sustainable result, attention should be paid to most of the government sectors.
Q: What do you expect the ANA to take as its priorities as it starts its activities in the near future?
A: In the very first step, the ANA is expected to repulse and discharge the activities and threats that have been annoying our people, for example the clashes in some border areas, some terrorist activities, disarmament and assisting the police until a national police force is formed.
Q: Who is funding the ANA, and how do you see it developing in the long term?
A: We are still relying on foreign aid, mainly from the US, which has had the leading role in attracting and granting aid for the Afghan National Army. The US has so far been lobbying for it. But we are looking for ways so that the government can pay for it in the future as no country or donor has guaranteed continuous assistance up to a particular time. However, we believe that the government will be able to support a 70,000-strong army in the long term from the country's own revenues.
Q: How do you cope with provincial military commanders if there is no space for them in the new army?
A: I don't think we have problems with them while all the military commanders of the country have recently agreed to take an active part in the creation of the ANA. Now it is up to us [to establish] how to use their potential and influence for the benefit of the national army. I think if the current number of armed people existed in any other country, the situation would have been
uncontrollable, but while there is a brotherhood atmosphere, there are no direct threats against the government.
Q: When will the 70,000-strong army be formed?
A: According to the outline discussed in Geneva, by the year 2010 Afghanistan will have a 70,000-man army. If we don't face logistics and financial obstacles, we have qualified and capable human resources on the ground which can help us achieve that goal sooner.
Q: Will such an army be able to meet all the challenges in Afghanistan?
A: If we have 70,000 well equipped and trained men, we will be able to overcome all the challenges. We will even be able to fight against terror ourselves, provided that other existing anti-government threats are annihilated. However, if the territorial integrity of the country is endangered, we will call for national volunteer forces, which will strengthen the capacity of national army many-fold. We will enable the current army to have the capacity to bring in additional forces in emergencies and times of alerts if needed.
Q: Are you sure the ANA will be acceptable to Afghans all over the country?
A: Yes. Since it is composed of people with patriotic feelings from different ethnicities and tribes, it will be widely welcomed by war-affected Afghans who have been waiting for such an army for years.
Q: How would you arm and equip the new army?
A: To supply heavy weapons for the army, the defence ministry uses internal availabilities. We have huge amounts of heavy weapons in the provinces, remnants from the time the Russians were here... [In the case of small arms,] though, we prefer to purchase new light weapons, because the light military hardware currently available in Afghanistan has expired or worn out.
Q: What is the current capacity of ANA and how much are the troops are paid?
A: There have been eight battalions created with 500 to 600 troops each. The troops were trained by foreign trainers in the beginning, but now the Afghan trainers have been upgraded by US, French and other military experts. The Afghan teachers now continue to train the current trainees.
Regarding salaries, a new recruit is paid approximately US $30 per month during his studies, whereby his salary rises to $70 when he graduates. The trained battalions have travelled to some provinces of Afghanistan including, Khowst, Oruzgan, Bamian and Gardez provinces for military training, but will be based in Kabul's central military division as their main headquarters.
Themes: (IRIN) Conflict
[ENDS]
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