COMMENTARY: A soap opera for the Finns, perhaps, but not for Afghani voters
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By Kaius Niemi
An Afghan citizen living in the region monitored by Finnish peace-keeping forces in Afghanistan is thinking of whether or not he will go to vote in the second round of the Presidential elections.
In Balkh Province, in the north of the country, it could be a hike of 50 kilometres to the nearest polling station.
The voter can withstand snow, and ice, and even blizzards, but staring into the barrel of an insurgent's assault-rifle really does require an exceptional belief in the overwhelming superiority of the democratic system.
As the snowflakes fall, mortar shells might accompany them.
The Afghani voter also ponders life after the elections.
The Governor of Balkh Province is clashing swords with his challengers. To them the outcome of the election really does matter, since the men support rival candidates for the Presidency.
The mood is apparently just as tense as it was during the civil war of the 1990s.
In 1997 and 1998, Mazar-e-Sharif, the city in which the Finnish ISAF peacekeepers are now based, went rapidly from being a haven of peace to the scene of bloody battles and frenzied killing as the Taleban moved in and occupied the city.
The very best of luck to the Afghani voters. In the neighbouring provinces to that patrolled by the Finns, namely Baghlan and Kunduz, one might prefer to stay at home on election day.
There the Taleban insurgents have taken over increasingly large areas of territory in the past year.
Last week, Kabul taxi-driver Mohammad Yasin unconsciously made a remark in an interview that condensed the entire Finnish foreign policy elite's cock-up over troop withdrawal timetables into a single stark sentence:
"For the foreigners, the elections are just a soap opera".
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 26.10.2009
The writer is a Helsingin Sanomat managing editor. He also reported as a foreign correspondent from Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley and the Salang Pass during the battles between the Northern Alliance and the Taleban in 2001.
An Afghan citizen living in the region monitored by Finnish peace-keeping forces in Afghanistan is thinking of whether or not he will go to vote in the second round of the Presidential elections.
In Balkh Province, in the north of the country, it could be a hike of 50 kilometres to the nearest polling station.
The voter can withstand snow, and ice, and even blizzards, but staring into the barrel of an insurgent's assault-rifle really does require an exceptional belief in the overwhelming superiority of the democratic system.
As the snowflakes fall, mortar shells might accompany them.
The Afghani voter also ponders life after the elections.
The Governor of Balkh Province is clashing swords with his challengers. To them the outcome of the election really does matter, since the men support rival candidates for the Presidency.
The mood is apparently just as tense as it was during the civil war of the 1990s.
In 1997 and 1998, Mazar-e-Sharif, the city in which the Finnish ISAF peacekeepers are now based, went rapidly from being a haven of peace to the scene of bloody battles and frenzied killing as the Taleban moved in and occupied the city.
The very best of luck to the Afghani voters. In the neighbouring provinces to that patrolled by the Finns, namely Baghlan and Kunduz, one might prefer to stay at home on election day.
There the Taleban insurgents have taken over increasingly large areas of territory in the past year.
Last week, Kabul taxi-driver Mohammad Yasin unconsciously made a remark in an interview that condensed the entire Finnish foreign policy elite's cock-up over troop withdrawal timetables into a single stark sentence:
"For the foreigners, the elections are just a soap opera".
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 26.10.2009
The writer is a Helsingin Sanomat managing editor. He also reported as a foreign correspondent from Afghanistan's Panjshir Valley and the Salang Pass during the battles between the Northern Alliance and the Taleban in 2001.
KAIUS NIEMI / Helsingin Sanomat
kaius.niemi@hs.fi