'Canada must stay': activist
Human rights advocate says NDP, antiwar groups wrong to abandon Afghanis to Taliban 'fascism'
By Dave Cooper, The Edmonton JournalApril 26, 2009
Lauryn Oates has seen the face of the Taliban in Afghanistan, and she calls it the face of fascism.
"They represent fascism -- even if the antiwar movement here fails to call them such," the human rights advocate told a military symposium Saturday.
"The Taliban now want a return to those times before 2001. They are not dissidents, their ideology is engaging in open revolt against humanity. And that's why Canada must stay in Afghanistan."
Canada will bring its combat troops home in 2011, but is expected to maintain a substantial assistance force to train more Afghan police and soldiers, and do development work.
Oates, founder of Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan chapters in Vancouver and Montreal, has been an activist since 1996 when she learned of the plight of women under Taliban rule.
She said the progress so far has been amazing, considering the nation has endured 30 years of violence, but it could change dramatically if Canada pulls out.
Oates told the story of a woman co-operative store owner in Kandahar, who fears a return of the Taliban.
"She said, 'If Canada leaves, the Taliban will be back and I will be dead, so you had better get me a visa for Canada,' " said Oates.
She told of a crowd of schoolgirls blinded in acid attacks, who insisted on returning to school. And of how a library in one village has completely changed the attitude towards education.
"As women study to master literacy, they are finding there is nothing more powerful in the world than learning to read," she said. "It's an uphill battle in Afghanistan, but this is something worth defending. Abandonment is not the answer."
Oates is critical of groups in Canada that don't understand the reality in Afghanistan and plead for Canada to bring home its troops.
"It is a misinformed campaign that the NDP and stop-the-war groups are doing," she said. "It is astounding that they don't seem to understand this is a United Nations mission."
Oates says their campaign is "rooted in selfishness" and attracts people who "prefer a NIMBY (not in my backyard) approach for the whole world."
Gen. Walter Natynczyk, chief of the defence staff, said "the defence of Canada starts thousands of miles away," and recounted the efforts of the forces to defend Afghanistan and rebuild the nation.
"In 2006 there was bare ground, now things are green as farmers are back, markets open," he said. "In 2006 there was not one Afghan policeman or soldier working with us. Now we have thousands."
Natynczyk said the bravery of Afghans who continue with their lives in spite of Taliban threats is an inspiration to the Canadians.
"A fellow working on a road project was stopped by the Taliban, and he had new bills. They knew he had just been paid so they shot him. But he returned to work. These people know they have no hope, no future, with the Taliban."
Despite the constant flow of bad news, Natynczyk said Canadians are seeing a new professionalism among the Afghan security forces.
"They are taking a full role now and asking us to come along. On one main road where they provide all the security, there haven't been any IEDs (improvised explosive devices) since they started."
But a porous border with Pakistan, and recent Taliban advances there, threaten Afghanistan stability, he added.
"We know the Taliban rest and recover in those ungovernable areas," he explained.
Defence Minister Peter MacKay called Pakistan the "most dangerous nation in the world" today.
"Afghanistan was the incubator for terrorism, now it is Pakistan, and the Taliban and al-Qaeda are able to influence what is going on in Afghanistan today. Which is why Canada, the Americans and others are concentrating on a regional approach," he said.
He said it is critical that Armed Forces on the ground tighten control the border.
"Pakistan can do more, as can the international community," said MacKay. "Clearly in Afghanistan and the border regions of Pakistan, free travel allows for the transport of weapons and motivated terrorists to come in, and Kandahar province is the funnel for terrorists. That's where they are coming in.
"And that is why we have thrown down the gauntlet there. We need everybody at the front line," he said.
There are seven NATO nations engaged in fighting the Taliban and 60 others choosing to stay away from danger, he said.
MacKay praised the Edmonton contribution to the mission, the biggest for the military since the Korean War.
"The leadership and quality of our people has allowed us to deliver on our pledge to the international community to keep our promise to Afghanistan, and we have relied heavily on Edmonton," he said.
The local 408 helicopter squadron recently began flying new heavy Chinook helicopters and smaller Griffon escort helicopters to aid ground troops, and more than 1,000 members of the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry (PPCLI) are currently training for another deployment to Afghanistan in August.
dcooper@thejournal.canwest.com© Copyright (c) The Edmonton Journal
