Afghan writer and former ambassador to Iran Dr Ghafoor Liwal, addressing BNM’s 12th Balochistan International Conference in Geneva, said that human-rights violations in Balochistan and among Pashtun communities have still not been correctly at the international level, and that information and awareness are a very important part of the struggle.
He said one of the biggest concerns for the people of our region is the violation of human rights. This repression is faced by the people of Balochistan and the people of Afghanistan, which we are enduring together. I want to free this nation from this bad situation and to share the suffering of all oppressed people.
He said we stand with humanity, whose children, women, the elderly and other innocent and defenceless people lose their lives because of state policies, military actions and crises. The Baloch have been afflicted by hardship for years. For many years Pashtuns too have suffered because of interference from Pakistan.
“Families have lost their loved ones. Innocent people live in fear and have little peace. I hear reports of what is happening in Balochistan: women and children are taken from their homes. The tortured bodies of many are found later. Thousands remain forcibly disappeared , mothers and sisters, political and community leaders, activists, women and ordinary citizens.”
He said there are also reports of torture and other serious human-rights violations. But in my view another serious problem is that the world is not hearing these things correctly.
“The free world still does not know enough about what is happening in Balochistan and the Pashtun homeland, and also in Afghanistan. And perhaps even more importantly, many people around the world do not know what these people are asking for. So they do not always know what they are suffering, or why so many people are making such great sacrifices.”
He said when we talk about defending human rights we need to work on two important fronts. At the local level we must help our own people understand what is happening. The international community needs reliable information about human-rights violations, enforced disappearances, killings, torture and other forms of injustice.
“We must help suppressed people understand their own rights: who is responsible when rights are violated; what they can do; where free expression is, where justice is. And most importantly, people must know that they have the right to speak, to protest, and to stand against injustice.”
He said it is difficult for people living under pressure and repression to do all this work themselves. They do not have security. They cannot have access to international organisations. They cannot speak openly. That is why I believe intellectuals, journalists, writers, activists and patriotic Afghan communities living outside the country have an important responsibility. We must become the voice of those who cannot speak freely.
He said this is especially important today. We live in an age of fast communication. In one sense every person can become a small media outlet. We all have the ability to share information. We can use social media, radio, YouTube, interviews and other forms of communication. But we must remember one important thing: we need to take the right message at the right time to the right people. Our information must be effective, based on facts and understandable. In other words we need a strategy. Content is truly important in raising the voice of nations under the pressure of occupation and political violence.
Turning to literature, he said some argue that poets and writers are the living archives of an entire people. Their feeling and national ideas can give hope. They can bring people together. They can help a nation grow its identity, dignity and future. He cited Khushal Khan Khattak and other poets, writers and national figures.
“If we use these ideas of dignity, unity, knowledge and feeling to bring our people together, we can build a stronger front. I believe our literature should be an important part of our struggle. Words, dreams, literature, journalism, history and art have all played an important role. They can change minds. They can give hope to the people and tell the world of their history and the suffering of our people. The struggle for human rights is not only a struggle of facts. It is also a struggle for an audience. It is a struggle for truth. It is a struggle for education. And it is a struggle to have someone’s voice heard.”