History Democratic_Republic_of_Afghanistan

1 history

1.1 saur revolution , taraki: 1978–1979
1.2 amin , soviet intervention: 1979
1.3 karmal era: 1979–1986
1.4 najibullah , soviet withdrawal: 1986–1989
1.5 fall: 1989–1992

history

the saur revolution , taraki: 1978–1979

mohammad daoud khan, president of republic of afghanistan 1973 1978, ousted during saur revolution (april revolution) following death of mir akbar khyber, parchamite politician people s democratic party of afghanistan (pdpa) died under mysterious circumstances. hafizullah amin, khalq, coup s chief architect. nur muhammad taraki, leader of khalqists, elected chairman of presidium of revolutionary council, chairman of council of ministers , retained post general secretary of pdpa central committee. under him babrak karmal, leader of parcham faction, deputy chairman of revolutionary council , deputy chairman of council of ministers, amin council of ministers deputy chairman , minister of foreign affairs , mohammad aslam watanjar council of ministers deputy chairman. appointment of karmal, amin , watanjar council of ministers deputy chairmen proved unstable, , led 3 different governments being established within government; khalq faction answerable amin, parchamites answerable karmal , military officers (who parchamites) answerable watanjar.

the first conflict between khalqists , parchamites arose when khalqists wanted give pdpa central committee membership military officers participated in saur revolution. amin, opposed appointment of military officers pdpa leadership, altered position; supported elevation. pdpa politburo voted in favour of giving membership military officers; victors (the khalqists) portrayed parchamites opportunists (they implied parchamites had ridden revolutionary wave, not participated in revolution). make matters worse parchamites, term parcham was, according taraki, word synonymous factionalism. on 27 june, 3 months after revolution, amin managed outmaneuver parchamites @ central committee meeting. meeting decided khalqists had exclusive right formulate , decide policy, left parchamites impotent. karmal exiled. later, coup planned parchamites, , led karmal, discovered khalqist leadership. discovery of coup prompted swift reaction; purge of parchamites began. parchamite ambassadors recalled, few returned; instance, karmal , mohammad najibullah stayed in respective countries.

during taraki s rule, unpopular land reform introduced, leading requisitioning of land government without compensation; disrupted lines of credit , led boycotts crop buyers of beneficiaries of reform, leading agricultural harvests plummet , rising discontent amongst afghans. when taraki realized degree of popular dissatisfaction reform began curtail policy. afghanistan s long history of resistance type of strong centralized governmental control further undermined authority. consequently, of land reform not implemented nationwide. in months following coup, taraki , other party leaders initiated other radical marxist policies challenged both traditional afghan values , well-established traditional power structures in rural areas. taraki introduced women political life , legislated end forced marriage. strength of anti-reform backlash lead afghan civil war.

amin , soviet intervention: 1979

amin ruled afghanistan 104 days

while amin , taraki had close relationship @ beginning, relationship deteriorated. amin had helped create personality cult centered on taraki, became disgusted shape took , taraki, had begun believe in own brilliance. taraki began dismissing amin s suggestions, fostering in amin deep sense of resentment. relationship turned increasingly sour, power struggle developed between them control on afghan army. following 1979 herat uprising, revolutionary council , pdpa politburo established homeland higher defence council. taraki elected chairman, while amin became deputy. amin s appointment, , acquisition of council of ministers chairmanship, not step further ladder 1 might assume; due constitutional reforms, amin s new offices more or less powerless. there failed assassination attempt led gang of four, consisted of watanjar, sayed mohammad gulabzoy, sherjan mazdoryar , assadullah sarwari. assassination attempt prompted amin conspire against taraki, , when taraki returned trip havana, ousted, , later suffocated on amin s orders.

during short stay in power (104 days), amin became committed establishing collective leadership. when taraki ousted, amin promised on there no one-man government ... attempting pacify population, released list of 18,000 people had been executed , blamed executions on taraki. total number arrested during taraki s , amin s rule combined, number between 17,000 , 45,000. amin not liked afghan people. during rule, opposition communist regime increased, , government lost control on countryside. state of afghan military deteriorated under amin; due desertions number of military personnel in afghan army decreased 100,000, in immediate aftermath of saur revolution, somewhere between 50,000 , 70,000. problem kgb had penetrated pdpa, military , government bureaucracy. while position in afghanistan becoming more perilous day, enemies exiled in soviet union , eastern bloc, agitating removal. babrak karmal, parchamite leader, met several leading eastern bloc figures during period, , mohammad aslam watanjar, sayed mohammad gulabzoy , assadullah sarwari wanted exact revenge on amin. prior soviet intervention, pdpa executed between 10,000 , 27,000 people, @ pul-e-charkhi prison.

meantime in soviet union, special commission of politburo on afghanistan consisted of yuri andropov, andrei gromyko, dmitriy ustinov , boris ponomarev wanted end impression soviet government supported amin s leadership , policies. andropov fought hard soviet intervention, telling leonid brezhnev amin s policies had destroyed military , government s capability handle crisis use of mass repression. plan, according andropov, amass small force intervene , remove amin power , replace him karmal. soviet union declared plan intervene in afghanistan on 12 december 1979, , soviet leadership initiated operation storm-333 (the first phase of intervention) on 27 december 1979.

amin remained trustful of soviet union until end, despite deterioration of official relations soviet union. when afghan intelligence service handed amin report soviet union invade country, , topple him, amin claimed report product of imperialism. view can explained fact soviet union, after several months, decided send troops afghanistan. contrary normal western beliefs, amin informed of soviet decision send troops afghanistan. amin killed soviet forces on 27 december 1979.

the karmal era: 1979–1986

karmal ascended power following amin s assassination. on 27 december radio kabul broadcast karmal s pre-recorded speech, stated today torture machine of amin has been smashed, accomplices – primitive executioners, usurpers , murderers of tens of thousand of our fellow countrymen – fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons , daughters, children , old people ... on 1 january leonid brezhnev, general secretary of central committee of communist party of soviet union, , alexei kosygin, soviet chairman of council of ministers, congratulated karmal on election leader, before afghan state or party organ had elected him anything.

when came power, karmal promised end executions, establishment of democratic institutions , free elections, creation of constitution, legalisation of parties other pdpa, , respect individual , personal property. prisoners incarcerated under 2 previous governments freed in general amnesty. promised coalition government going established, not going espouse socialism. @ same time, told afghan people had negotiated soviet union give economic, military , political assistance. if karmal indeed wanted this, impossible put practice in presence of soviet union. afghans mistrusted government @ time. many still remembered karmal had said protect private capital in 1978, promise later proven lie.

when political solution failed, afghan government , soviet military decided solve conflict militarily. change political military solution came gradually. began in january 1981: karmal doubled wages military personnel, issued several promotions, , 1 general , thirteen colonels decorated. draft age lowered, obligatory length of military duty extended, , age reservists increased thirty-five years of age. in june, assadullah sarwari lost seat in pdpa politburo, , in place appointed mohammad aslam watanjar, former tank commander , minister of communications, major general mohammad rafi, minister of defence , khad chairman mohammad najibullah. these measures introduced due collapse of army; before invasion army field 100,000 troops, after invasion 25,000. desertion pandemic, , recruitment campaigns young people led them flee opposition. better organise military, 7 military zones established each own defence council. defence council established @ national, provincial , district level devolve powers local pdpa. estimated afghan government spent as 40 percent of government revenue on defence.

karmal forced resign post pdpa general secretary in may, 1985, due increasing pressure soviet leadership. in post pdpa general secretary succeeded najibullah, former minister of state security. continued have influence in upper echelons of party , state, until forced resign post of revolutionary council chairman in november, 1986. karmal succeeded haji mohammad chamkani, not member of pdpa.

najibullah , soviet withdrawal: 1986–1989

in september 1986 national compromise commission (ncc) established on orders of najibullah. ncc s goal contact counter-revolutionaries in order complete saur revolution in new phase. estimated 40,000 rebels contacted government. @ end of 1986, najibullah called six-month ceasefire , talks between various opposition forces, part of policy of national reconciliation. discussions, if fruitful, have led establishment of coalition government , end of pdpa s monopoly on power. programme failed, government able recruit disillusioned mujahideen fighters government militias. national reconciliation did lead increasing number of urban dwellers support rule, , stabilisation of afghan defence forces.

najibullah giving decoration soviet serviceman

while najibullah may have been de jure leader of afghanistan, soviet advisers still did of work after najibullah took power. gorbachev remarked re still doing ourselves [...]. s our people know how do. ve tied najibullah hand , foot. fikryat tabeev, soviet ambassador afghanistan, accused of acting governor general gorbachev, , recalled afghanistan in july 1986. while gorbachev called end of soviet management of afghanistan, not resist doing managing himself. @ soviet politburo meeting, gorbachev said, s difficult build new building out of old material [...] hope god haven t made mistake najibullah. time prove, najibullah s aims opposite of soviet union s; najibullah opposed soviet withdrawal, soviet union wanted withdrawal. understandable, since afghan military on brink of dissolution. najibullah thought means of survival retain soviet presence. in july 1986 6 soviet regiments, 15,000 troops, withdrawn afghanistan. aim of withdrawal was, according gorbachev, show world soviet leadership serious leaving afghanistan. soviets told united states government planning withdraw, united states government didn t believe it. when gorbachev met ronald reagan during visit united states, reagan called, bizarrely, dissolution of afghan army.

on 14 april afghan , pakistani governments signed 1988 geneva accords, , soviet union , united states signed guarantors; treaty stated soviet military had withdraw afghanistan 15 february 1989. during politburo meeting eduard shevardnadze said leave country in deplorable situation , , talked further economic collapse, , need keep @ least 10,000 15,000 troops in afghanistan. vladimir kryuchkov, kgb chairman, supported position. stance, if implemented, betrayal of geneva accords signed. najibullah against type of soviet withdrawal. few soviet troops remained after soviet withdrawal; instance, parachutists protected soviet embassy staff, military advisors , special forces , reconnaissance troops still operated in outlying provinces , along afghan–soviet border.

the fall: 1989–1992

pakistan, under zia ul-haq, continued support mujahideen though contravention of geneva accords. @ beginning observers expected najibullah government collapse immediately, , replaced islamic fundamentalist government. central intelligence agency stated in report, new government ambivalent, or worse hostile, towards united states. after soviet withdrawal, battle of jalalabad fought between afghan government forces , mujahideen; government forces, surprise of many, repulsed attack , won battle. trend not continue, , summer of 1990, afghan government forces on defensive again. beginning of 1991, government controlled 10 percent of afghanistan, eleven-year siege of khost had ended in mujahideen victory , morale of afghan military collapsed. didn t soviet union falling apart itself; hundreds of millions of dollars of yearly economic aid najibullah s government moscow dried up.

in march, najibullah offered government s immediate resignation, , following agreement united nations (un), government replaced interim government. in mid-april najibullah accepted un plan hand power seven-man council. few days later, on 14 april, najibullah forced resign on orders of watan party, because of loss of bagram airbase , town of charikar. abdul rahim hatef became acting head of state following najibullah s resignation. najibullah, not long before kabul s fall, appealed un amnesty, granted. najibullah hindered abdul rashid dostum escaping; instead, najibullah sought haven in local un headquarters in kabul. war in afghanistan did not end najibullah s ouster, , continues until today.