■■"SKMEiy
Photo hv Hobbit 1.0
Mohammed Said, from Pishawer l University in Pakistan, spoke on campus Friday about the war
in Afghanistan.
No end in sight for struggle
in Afghanistan, speaker says
By Tonnie Dakin
Of the Kmerald
On Dec. 25, 1979, a day when
the rest of the world was
celebrating Christmas, the
Soviets invaded Afghanistan
with 80,000 troops, said
Mohammed Said, Ph D., to a
crowd of about 70 people
Friday.
“Since then there has been
bombing every day, and
fighting every day, and killing
every day,” he said. “Not a day
has passed without killing.”
Said is the Dean of Liberal
Arts at Pishawer University in
Pakistan, which is located on
the border between Afghanistan
and Pakistan.
Although the war has been
going on for almost seven years,
the conditions that led to the
fighting date back much fur
ther, Said said.
Afghanistan, a landlocked
country about the size of Texas,
is surrounded by Pakistan, Iran,
China and the Soviet Union.
‘‘Afghanistan has t h t;
drawback of having a very bad
neighbor. . the Soviet Union,"
Said said.
The larger country has the
reputation of swallowing weak
neighbors, which was a cons
tant threat to Afghanistan, he
said.
During the 1950s. the United
States government refused to
give military assistance to
Afghanistan when the country
wanted to build up its army, he
said.
“The U.S.S.R was ready."
Said said. “She not only pro
mised to give arms, but to give
instruction on how to use
arms.”
Soon after, the Soviet Union
began to encourage com
munism in the smaller country,
and a group of freedom fighters,
the People's Democratic Party
of Afghanistan, was formed, he
said.
Internal unrest upset the
country as a succession of im
portant political figures were
overthrown. Said said.
“They (the Afghan people)
knew who was pulling the str
ings . . . they protested against
the interference of the U.S.S.R.
in their affairs." he said.
The war of resistance taking
place within the country affects
people from all walks of life,
Said said. In every refugee
camp, every family can speak of
at leas: ie family member lust
to the he said.
"It's a people's war...in
every sense of the word." Said
said.
Because of the strong
resistance, the Soviets have
begun to worry, he said
Afghanistan is slowly destroy
ing the Soviets' image of in
destructibility, he said.
"They have underestimated
the will and the faith of the
Afghan people." Said said.
"The tough resistance has come
to them as a big surprise."
The Soviets have retaliated by
destroying Afghan resources
and indiscriminately bombing
the country, he said,
"Their (strategy) is one of the
total destruction of Afghanistan
and a complete genocide of the
Afghan people,” Said said.
The country’s industrial units
and transmission lines have
long since shut down, miles of
asphalt highways have been
destroyed, tourism is non
existent, and economic
development is at a standstill,
he said.
"It will take many, many
years, perhaps decades, to bring
the economy back to the 1979
level," Said said.
Although the exact number of
dead are not known, there are as
many as 5 million internal
refugees, 10 million uprooted
citizens, and thousands of
homeless men, women and
children, he said.
"Perhaps when the dust falls,
perhaps when the notes are
compared, we will know how
many were killed," Said said.
Currently, the Afghan army is
still showing signs of
resistance, and the situation
may start to improve soon, he
said. The People’s Democratic
Party of Afghanistan is slowly
starting to divide, and there has
been a large-scale defection to
the Afghan army, he said.
But despite all of these suc
cesses. the end of the war does
not seem to be in sight. Said
said. The Soviets will not
withdraw easily because their
losses are insignificant when
compared to their total strength.
In addition, no tangible help
has come from outside sources,
he said.
Said said that he chose his
topic for several reasons, one of
them being that few Americans
are informed about the situation
in Afghanistan. This is because
of the complete ban on indepen
dent foreign journalists in the
country, he said.
"Whatever news comes out is
views rather than news." Said
said.
More importantly, Said hopes
to do »orvice to the Afghan
resistance by sharing the condi
tion of the country with others,
he said.
“There, almost every day 1
listen to the thundering noise of
the Russian artillery." Said
said.
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