[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                     AFGHANISTAN CONFLICT CONTINUES

                                 ______


                        HON. MICHAEL J. KOPETSKI

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. KOPETSKI. Mr. Speaker, the world revels today over the end of the 
cold war and the ensuing wave of democracy and market capitalism that 
has washed over Europe. Latin America, and parts of Asia. Just last 
week, our President hosted Russian President Boris Yeltsin minus the 
tension and drama that used to attend such summits. Instead, it was a 
meeting of friends, of partners in search of even better ways to 
enhance our cooperative relations on economic and security matters.
  However, the epilog of the cold war is still being written in 
Afghanistan. The United States and particularly the Soviet Union used 
this country and its people as a surrogate battlefield during the cold 
war. A surrogate war to us continues to be a war-ravaged land to the 
people of Afghanistan.
  Afghanistan is a small country, slightly smaller than the State of 
Texas. It has a population of 17.7 million people including 1.4 million 
refugees living in Pakistan and 2 million refugees living in Iran. A 
Muslim nation, it has been the centerpiece of South Asian history for 
decades mainly because of its geographic location. Landlocked and 
mostly mountains and deserts, it has been the crossroads of trade for 
thousands of years. It is the gateway to India and to the sea and thus 
a central force in the quest of the great power games.
  Decimated by war, the Afghan economy's GDP is only $3 billion. At 
least 65 percent of the economy is agriculture based and, of course, it 
is suffering because of the war. it does possess natural gas, oil, 
coal, copper, zinc, and other metals which give its economy potential 
income in a future peace. But no progress can occur until peace 
arrives. Perhaps its most protected and consistent crop is poppy plants 
used for heroin production. It is estimated that nearly 20 percent of 
the heroin in the United States comes from Afghanistan, and most of the 
heroin filling the streets of Moscow today comes from Afghanistan. But 
with no government in control of Afghanistan, it is impossible for the 
United States or Russia to stem the flow of heroin from this country.
  Though the moral obligation lies squarely on Russia and the United 
States to help facilitate peace in that land, a very practical self-
interest exists as well: That is to eradicate a major source of drugs 
in the two respective nations. We will not be able to do this without a 
government there; a government willing to let our Drug Enforcement 
Agency and State Department work with them to eradicate this source of 
illicit drugs and, therefore, crime in Russia and the United States.
  Mr. Speaker, at this point I ask unanimous consent that the 
administration's current position and policy toward Afghanistan as 
presented by Robin Raphael, Assistant Secretary of State for South 
Asian Affairs, to the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Asia and the 
Pacific on August 11, 1994, be made part of the Record.

                       Statement by Robin Raphel


                              afghanistan

       Mr. Chairman, Afghanistan is the sad exception to a tale of 
     political and economic progress in South Asia. Our primary 
     goal there is a simple one--to help promote peace and 
     security in a country torn by war for almost fifteen years. 
     There are other important issues in Afghanistan, including 
     reconstruction of the economy and infrastructure, 
     repatriation of the refugees, combatting narcotics 
     trafficking, and putting an end to the harboring of radical 
     groups, all of which have important potential for regional 
     stability.
       However, significant progress toward these or any other 
     goals is dependent on the end of fighting and the emergence 
     of a government that can assert authority throughout the 
     country. We believe only a broad-based government with a 
     mandate from all Afghans, both at home and abroad, can bring 
     the stability that Afghanistan needs. This political process 
     could include the former king, Zahir Shah, should he so 
     desire.
       Afghanistan was the last great battlefield of the Cold War. 
     From 1978 to 1992, over a million Afghans lost their lives in 
     the struggle against a regime imposed and supported by the 
     Soviet Union. Countless others were maimed by mines and other 
     accidents of war. At least five million more became refugees 
     in Pakistan and Iran and two million were internally 
     displaced.
       The whole world had hoped that the conflict and the 
     suffering would end with the fall of the regime of President 
     Najibullah. But rivalries among Afghan factions have fuelled 
     continuing warfare, as tens of thousands more have been 
     killed or wounded since 1992. Fighting intensified in Kabul 
     and northern Afghanistan beginning this past January as 
     coalitions aligned with President Rabbani and Prime Minister 
     Hekmatyar struggled for supreme power. Twenty-three thousand 
     more people have become casualties since then and another 
     wave of refugees and displaced persons has been generated.
       For the past several years, the United States has worked 
     hard to promote a peaceful political process in Afghanistan 
     that would enable a functioning central government to emerge 
     and reconstruction to begin. Our involvement in Afghanistan 
     is longstanding. When the Afghan people chose to resist the 
     Soviet occupation, we supported them. When the Soviets 
     withdrew, leaving behind an entrenched puppet regime, we 
     worked with mujahidin factions, traditional and Islamic 
     leaders, and the former King to encourage a transition to a 
     workable government. Since the regime's collapse, we have 
     maintained our efforts to help create a broad-based 
     government to oversee the reconstruction of this war-torn 
     country.
       Mr. Chairman, the peace so many Afghans desire has not been 
     achieved, in spite of their efforts and those of others, 
     including the United States. Fighting has continued between 
     Afghan factional leaders, who do not appear to have the 
     interests of their country and their people at heart. Despite 
     the history of our long involvement in Afghanistan, we find 
     factional leaders remain intransigent and seemingly oblivious 
     to persuasion or pressure. Our embassy in Kabul has been 
     closed since 1989. Given the ongoing anarchy in the capital, 
     we see no way we can reopen it in the near future.
       In the circumstances, we believe the best approach is to 
     support coordinated efforts by the UN and other multilateral 
     organizations to encourage a political process which leads to 
     a government in Kabul acceptable to all Afghans. We also have 
     worked bilaterally to this end, urging all neighbors and 
     other interested states to support peace efforts. We were 
     instrumental in the creation of the Friends of Afghanistan, a 
     group of concerned states at the UN. We worked through the 
     Security Council and the General Assembly for the dispatch of 
     a UN Special Mission to help Afghans resolve their 
     differences peacefully.
       In March and April this Mission, led by former Tunisian 
     Foreign Minister Mahmoud Mestiri, went to Afghanistan and the 
     region. The Mission met with Afghan leaders inside and 
     outside the country, including former King Zahir Shah, as 
     well as officials of concerned governments. Mr. Mestiri is 
     now back in the region and we continue to strongly support 
     his Mission.
       Afghan factions clearly receive support from abroad. 
     However, we have no conclusive evidence demonstrating exactly 
     what they receive and from which sources. We are working to 
     curb the flow of weapons and materiel to the factions. We 
     have received assurances from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, India, 
     Tadjikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan that they are not 
     providing weapons or materiel. However, given Afghanistan's 
     porous borders, assistance from private groups in these and 
     other countries may well be continuing.
       The absence of effective government and limited security in 
     both the capital and the countryside have made it very 
     difficult to conduct development programs in Afghanistan. We 
     recently closed our bilateral assistance program in part 
     because of these circumstances. However, the U.S. continues 
     to provide substantial humanitarian assistance to the Afghan 
     people through UN agencies and non governmental 
     organizations. Their programs support refugees, food for work 
     projects, immunizations, and demining.

  Mr. Speaker, I want to take a few moments to present a variety of 
points about the Afghan situation gleaned from Assistant Secretary 
Raphael's appearance before the Foreign Affairs Committee.
  Afghanistan's civil war intensified at the beginning of 1994 as a 
result of the defection of key supporter to President Rabbani. General 
Abdul Rashid Dostam defected to the side of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and 
others who seek to dispose President Rabbini. Since this time, more 
than 30,000 people, mostly civilian noncombatants, have been killed or 
wounded.
  There has been no functioning central authority in Afghanistan since 
the mujahideen overthrew the Communist regime in 1992.
  Large scale human rights violations occur daily in Afghanistan. After 
15 years of unrelenting warfare, Afghanistan lacks a constitution, 
national judicial system or any functioning government.
  Afghanistan is second only to Burma in terms of opium production. 
Last year, the administration estimates Afghanistan produced almost 700 
metric tons of opium. Opium is the largest cash crop in Afghanistan. 
Therefore, drug money ends up supporting the continuation of the civil 
war.
  Since the Soviet invasion in 1979, between 1 and 1.5 million Afghans 
have been killed. The total of Afghan fatalities is unofficially 
estimated at six times the Bosnian fatalities.
  Afghanistan is the most heavily mined country in the world with an 
estimated 10 million uncleared land mines. Mine injuries in Afghanistan 
number as high as 1,500 per year, mostly innocent civilians.
  Afghans are the world's largest refugee population. Some 3.4 million 
Afghans still reside in refugee camps in Pakistan and Iran.
  Since 1989, the United States has provided over $300 million in 
direct bilateral assistance to Afghanistan. The United States recently 
closed our bilateral aid program to Afghanistan due to unsafe security 
conditions in Afghanistan and the absence of an effective central 
government.
  Mr. Speaker, there are 18 million stories to be told about the 
ongoing tragedy that is Afghanistan. One of the best summaries is 
provided by Mr. John Darnton for the New York Times in a recent article 
about Afghan families living in a refugee camp. I ask unanimous consent 
that this story of August 11, 1994 also be made part of the Record at 
this point.

   [From the New York Times, International, Thursday, Aug. 11, 1994]

             Forgotten by World, Afghans Plunge Into Misery

                           (By John Darnton)

       Jalalabad, Afghanistan--The Sar Shahi camp for people 
     displaced by the war, a vast checkerboard of tents extending 
     as far as the eye can see, sits on a barren plateau of rocks 
     and gravel and fries in the sweltering Afghan sun like a 
     skillet on a stove.
       There is no natural source of water within an hour's walk 
     and scarcely a tree to case a sliver of shade. The 
     temperature hits 105 or 106 degrees these summer days, so hot 
     that people just stay in their tents, almost too listless to 
     swat away the flies.
       ``Here it's a desert and there is nothing to do, just to 
     sit and wait for rations,'' said Mohammed Akbar, 35, who 
     lives in the camp with his wife and three children. In his 
     right hand, he toyed with one of his few possessions, a tape 
     measure. ``This is not a life.''
       The camp is home to 118,000 people and is growing by about 
     30 families a day. Almost all have fled from Kabul, the 
     capital, 70 miles east, where fighting began again on Jan. 1 
     among the various factions of mujahedeen who expelled the 
     Soviets in 1989 and toppled the Soviet-backed Government in 
     April 1992.
       Their own feuding has been more destructive than the Soviet 
     era. In the previous 12 years of guerrilla warfare the 
     capital remained largely intact. Now it is in ruins from 
     rocket attacks and street fighting as the forces of Prime 
     Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and President Burhanuddin 
     Rabbani struggle for control. More than 11,000 people have 
     been killed and 500,000 made homeless in the last seven 
     months.
       Five years ago the world was paying attention to what was 
     happening here. Two years ago there was hope that the world's 
     largest concentration of refugees, some six million Afghans 
     in Pakistan, and Iran, would finally return home, and some 
     2.7 million eventually did. But the fighting has renewed, and 
     now it goes on in international obscurity.
       There are still 3.3 million refugees outside Afghanistan--
     1.5 million in Pakistan and 1.8 million in Iran. The return 
     of refugees ebbed, and the tide started running in the other 
     direction. The huge camps outside Peshawar and Quetta in 
     Pakistan, with ever-expanding numbers of adobe houses, 
     electrical lines and health and educational services, have 
     become like established villages.
       The refugees there are integrating ever more deeply into 
     the local economy or even sending their bread-winners flying 
     off to jobs in Arab countries on the Persian Gulf with their 
     families securely settled behind. Aid officials say that some 
     will probably never go back despite the fact that 
     international aid is scheduled to be cut off next year.
       ``I have two sons and two grandsons,'' said Malik Jader, a 
     70-year-old refugee with a flowing white beard who lives in 
     Nasirbagh camp in Peshawar. ``The sons earn 100 rupees a day 
     and the grandsons 50 rupees. So I live like a king.''
       Like most refugees, he insisted that he would return to his 
     village once the fighting stopped and the land mines were 
     cleared. ``Overnight,'' he said, showing off his seven-room 
     house. ``I would even leave the beams of this house.'' But he 
     admitted that his grandchildren had adjusted to life in 
     Pakistan and had even taken up Pakistani customs like playing 
     cricket.
       To try to stem the flow of new arrivals, Pakistan closed 
     the border in mid-January. It is still possible for refugees 
     to slip through along well-worn routes off the main road or 
     to bribe their way past border guards. But for the most part 
     they have stopped going to Pakistan, and many now settle here 
     in the desolate Sar Shahi camp 10 miles outside of Jalalabad.
       It is a cruel place to live, a sprawl of tents spread over 
     six square miles of lunar landscape. The site was chosen by 
     the shura, the governing body of local leaders, over the 
     objections of United Nations staff members, apparently 
     because it was far enough out of town to keep problems at 
     bay.
       Digging a latrine can take up to a week. A Danish agency 
     has been drilling fruitlessly for water. The latest well, the 
     third, has gone down 260 feet without finding any. Water is 
     trucked in daily by 30 tankers, which can still provide only 
     about 11 quarts of the daily requirement of about 15 per 
     person.
       Six people died of heat stroke in a single week recently, 
     and children are dying from diarrhea because some 
     inhabitants, loath to use communal latrines that are not 
     always kept clean and private, have taken to defecating in 
     the open fields.
       Most residents seem to have rashes from the bugs and heat, 
     and they say that disease is rife, that the medicine doled 
     out by the clinic seems ineffective and that the rations of 
     wheat flour and cooking oil are not enough.
       ``The worst thing is the heat,'' said Ala Gul, who is 55. 
     ``That and the scorpions and the snakes. This is not a place 
     to live.''
       Mir Ata, who lost his son when a rocket struck his house in 
     Kabul, said he wanted to return to the capital but was afraid 
     to. Even his age, 75, would not save him, he said.
       ``When the Soviets were here, they never killed people like 
     me,'' he said. ``They looked for young people. But now the 
     fighters don't care. Women, children, old men--they'll kill 
     anyone.''

  Mr. Speaker, I would be remiss if I did not offer some constructive 
steps for the Administration, and therefore our country, to take with 
respect to the tragedy of Afghanistan.
  First, to help the refugees, of which there are approximately 3.5 
million, I have written President Clinton a letter. In this letter, I 
ask the President to direct the Department of Defense and the State 
Department to work together to continue refugee assistance under the 
McCollum Program. This program provides excess--excess--Defense 
articles to refugees, articles such as blankets, tents, cots, and 
medical supplies to help families and children caught in this personal 
horror. Because the United States Agency for International Development 
office in Islamabad is closing, the continuation of the McCollum 
Program for Afghan refugees is in jeopardy. The President can ensure 
continuation by a simple directive. I ask unanimous consent that my 
October 4, 1994 letter to President Clinton be placed in the Record at 
this point.

                                         House of Representatives,


                                Congress of the United States,

                                 Washington, DC., October 4, 1994.
     President Bill Clinton,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear President Clinton: I am writing to direct your 
     attention to a important United States relief program for 
     refugees from Afghanistan's civil war. The McCollum Program 
     has provided excess Department of Defense articles to Afghan 
     refugees since 1986.
       The articles provided by the McCollum Program to Afghan 
     refugees are all humanitarian in nature, including medical 
     supplies. The McCollum Program does not provide assistance to 
     any of the armed factions engaged in Afghanistan's civil war. 
     I have visited with Afghanistan refugees in Pakistan and I 
     can attest personally to the need for continuation of the 
     McCollum Program.
       The United States Agency for International Development 
     office in Islamabad, Pakistan has orchestrated the 
     distribution of McCollum Program assistance. Unfortunately, 
     USAID Islamabad mission is closing, thus endangering the 
     continuation of the McCollum Program. I respectfully request 
     that you direct the Department of Defense and the Department 
     of State to work cooperatively to continue this vital refugee 
     assistance program. The United States, while supporting 
     efforts to end fifteen years of war in Afghanistan, must not 
     abandon innocent Afghans where the U.S. has the capability to 
     save lives.
       With the demise of the Soviet Union, Afghanistan's 
     importance to the United States has diminished. However, the 
     United States cannot abandon completely Afghanistan. If we 
     abandon Afghanistan, we doom the Afghan population to a 
     longer period of civil war and the further destruction of 
     that nation. I recognize the U.S. provides aid to Afghanistan 
     through the United Nations. This is also worthy and must 
     continue. However, I believe strongly in the importance of 
     the McCollum Program and I urge you to support its 
     continuance.
       Thank you.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Mike Kopetski,
                                               Member of Congress.

  Second, I have written the President, also on October 4, 1994, to 
request that the United States seek to convene high level meetings with 
all the nations involved in this unholy war including but not limited 
to Egypt, India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Uzbekistan, 
Tajikistan, and Turkey. I believe these nations have the wherewithal to 
convince the leaders of the 10 factions within Afghanistan that it is 
time for peace. I ask unanimous consent that this letter also be made 
part of the Record at this point.
                                         House of Representatives,


                                Congress of the United States,

                                  Washington, DC, October 4, 1991.
     President Bill Clinton,
     The White House, Washington, DC.
       Dear President Clinton: I write to implore your 
     Administration to address the ongoing crisis situation in 
     Afghanistan. The International Committee of the Red Cross 
     warned recently, ``As winter approaches, the ICRC fears that 
     a large-scale human disaster may be impossible to avert (in 
     Afghanistan).''
       Afghanistan continues to suffer as a result of the Cold 
     War. Some 3.3 million refugees still reside in refuge camps 
     in Pakistan and Iran unable to return home despite the 
     withdrawal of Soviet forces. Factional fighting, a civil war, 
     rages on killing thousands of children and other innocent 
     civilians, often in regions untouched by the Soviet conflict. 
     More than 12 million Afghans have been killed during the 
     civil war. In Kabul, more than 30,000 have been killed or 
     wounded this year.
       Afghanistan is awash with weapons including ballistic 
     missiles, stingers and other weaponry provided to the rebels 
     forces during the Soviet conflict. Additionally, weapons 
     continue to flow into Afghanistan from neighboring states 
     allied with different factions in the Afghanistan civil war. 
     Of equal concern to the United States is the explosive growth 
     in the opium trade originating in Afghanistan. It has been 
     reported that Afghanistan may produce as much as 695 tons of 
     opium annually for heroin production. As much as 20 percent 
     of heroin available in the United States more than likely 
     comes from Afghanistan opium.
       I believe firmly the United States has a moral 
     responsibility to seek a peaceful resolution of Afghanistan's 
     civil war. I recognize the United Nations and a number of 
     respected international organizations have committed time and 
     resources to Afghanistan. Unfortunately, these worthy efforts 
     have failed and no solution to the violence in Afghanistan is 
     in sight. Therefore, I recommend strongly that the 
     Administration convene high level meetings with all the 
     nations involved in the Afghanistan conflict including Egypt, 
     India, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and other 
     relevant parties.
       Mr. President, I do not pretend to offer this alternative 
     as a quick and easy solution to the Afghanistan problem. 
     Until the combatants themselves desire peace, all of our 
     efforts may not be successful. However, I believe the United 
     States and Russia bear significant responsibility to increase 
     efforts to bring peace for Afghanistan. With you leadership, 
     I am hopeful peace in Afghanistan can be achieved.
       Thank you.
           Sincerely,
                                                    Mike Kopetski,
                                               Member of Congress.

  Mr. Speaker, the United States and Russia have both a moral 
responsibility and a practical reason to elevate the importance of 
peace in Afghanistan. First the moral reason: we had a hand as an 
adversary in the cold war against the Soviet Union. Russia clearly has 
a responsibility also. We should not walk away. I don't point a finger 
of blame. I lay the hand of responsibility on the United States and 
Russia. As World Powers, we have the obligation to help stop the 
suffering and deaths of innocent people.
  Second, the practical motive for seeking to bring peace to 
Afghanistan: If we want to eradicate a significant source of drugs in 
America we must have a government, a stable government, in Afghanistan 
with which to work. There is none today. This situation affects every 
American today directly in the form of drug abuse and crime-related 
activity.
  Mr. Speaker, the harsh reality is peace can't come to Afghanistan 
until the 10 warring factions desire peace. Perhaps if nations involved 
with Afghanistan today came together and begin a diaglog, pressure 
could be brought on Afghan leaders to come to the peace table. The 
people of Afghanistan want peace. It is time to end this tragedy.

                          ____________________