The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University The Road to Afghanistan - George Washington University

13.07.2015 Views

ecame a colony of Britain. Afghan troops led by the national heroes from this particulartribe successfully defeated the Brits in three wars. And here appears some unknown Ghilzaifrom the Taraki tribe and announces that the descendants of the nation’s leaders aretraitors? And he goes and confiscates their property? What do you suppose other Afghansthink about that?”Dvoryankov was thinking, furrowing his brow.“After that second decree was issued,” continued Starostin, “the belongings of thefamilies of King Zahir Shah and President Daoud were pawned off. Tamara and I went tothe auction. A hand-woven carpet with a portrait of the former president of Afghanistanthat had been given to him as a sign of love and respect by residents of either Baghlan orMazar-i-Sharif was spread in front of the entrance. The exhibition’s organizers thoughtthat, entering the pavilion, every visitor should step and wipe their dirty feet on Daoud’sface. I don’t understand—from where does the desire to defile images of defeated enemiesarise? As far as I know, this is not representative of Afghan culture. We certainly did notstep on that carpet, and many Afghans had similar reservations.“There were different things exhibited there: clothes, footwear, dishes, jewelry. Mostof the pieces were cheap and old. It was a very sad sight. All of the visitors, includingAfghans and foreigners, were surprised at how modest the members of the Afghanmonarchal clan were. I met my old American friend Lenox, a CIA operative, at the sale. Heasked me if I bought anything. I showed him a pajama top that Mohammad Daoudsupposedly wore upon returning home from work. I paid close to nothing for it, still morethan it was worth. The item was of interest for me only as a souvenir. Lenox showed metwo small silver rings with lapis lazuli and a coffee cup made of Lomonosov porcelain from276

Leningrad that he bought at the auction. I said to him, ‘Well, the families of Daoud and theking didn’t lead a particularly chic lifestyle.’ Lenox, however, objected. According to him,the Kabul monarchal family’s property had been estimated to be worth millions of dollars.However, the auction never reached that amount because the valuable items had alreadybeen stolen by the Afghan revolutionaries.”Dvoryankov, after withholding an initial impulse to argue, quietly asked, “Do youreally think that Taraki is a marauder?”“I don’t allow myself to think that way, but I wouldn’t put it past Amin and some ofhis officers to make off with some of the loot. But let’s not talk about this mundane issue.Let’s return to our discussion of the decrees.“In accordance with Decree Number Three, Daoud’s constitution was annulled. All ofthe laws that had been adopted earlier, ‘except for those that do not contradict the goalsand tasks of the April Revolution,’ were abolished. Isn’t this a strange formula? As if Daoud,while adopting his laws, was thinking about the goals of the revolution, as a result of whichhe would be murdered. In accordance with this decree, the functions of the Supreme Courtare transferred to the Supreme Court Council of the DRA, which reports directly to theRevolutionary Council. The minister of justice becomes the supreme judge. The MilitaryRevolutionary Tribunal will report to the Revolutionary Council. This means that the newAfghan regime elected to consolidate all power in the Revolutionary Council, rejecting theseparation of the judicial, legislative, and executive branches, effectively concentrating allpower in the hands of one person—Taraki.”277

Leningrad that he bought at the auction. I said <strong>to</strong> him, ‘Well, the families of Daoud and theking didn’t lead a particularly chic lifestyle.’ Lenox, however, objected. According <strong>to</strong> him,the Kabul monarchal family’s property had been estimated <strong>to</strong> be worth millions of dollars.However, the auction never reached that amount because the valuable items had alreadybeen s<strong>to</strong>len by the Afghan revolutionaries.”Dvoryankov, after withholding an initial impulse <strong>to</strong> argue, quietly asked, “Do youreally think that Taraki is a marauder?”“I don’t allow myself <strong>to</strong> think that way, but I wouldn’t put it past Amin and some ofhis officers <strong>to</strong> make off with some of the loot. But let’s not talk about this mundane issue.Let’s return <strong>to</strong> our discussion of the decrees.“In accordance with Decree Number Three, Daoud’s constitution was annulled. All ofthe laws that had been adopted earlier, ‘except for those that do not contradict the goalsand tasks of the April Revolution,’ were abolished. Isn’t this a strange formula? As if Daoud,while adopting his laws, was thinking about the goals of the revolution, as a result of whichhe would be murdered. In accordance with this decree, the functions of the Supreme Courtare transferred <strong>to</strong> the Supreme Court Council of the DRA, which reports directly <strong>to</strong> theRevolutionary Council. <strong>The</strong> minister of justice becomes the supreme judge. <strong>The</strong> MilitaryRevolutionary Tribunal will report <strong>to</strong> the Revolutionary Council. This means that the newAfghan regime elected <strong>to</strong> consolidate all power in the Revolutionary Council, rejecting theseparation of the judicial, legislative, and executive branches, effectively concentrating allpower in the hands of one person—Taraki.”277

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