Afghanistan Times
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KABUL: Salahuddin Rabbani, leade of Jamiat, a former jihadi party accused a circle inside the presidential palace of consciously spreading and intensifying hatreds and conflicts in Afghanistan to divide ethnic groups.
Speaking among his supporters Friday in his birthplace Badakhshan province, Rabbani warned against tough consequences of ethnic and lingual differences in Afghanistan, saying that he was sure the organizers of such programs would be the first victims.
He argued that a government entity announced Farsi (spoken by majority of Afghans) as a foreign language, which was an example of ethnic rifts. His referring was to a form for electronic ID cards in which Farsi was written as a foreign language. The move was followed by reactions from people and lawmakers.
“I know deeply this Arg circle and know that these programs are consciously to spread ethnic and lingual hatreds in Afghanistan,” said Rabbani.
“The Arg circle is aware that ethnic, cultural and lingual variety in Afghanistan is not only a matter of beauty, but recognizing them also strengthens national unity.”
He claimed that the policy of removing and denying of identities would not work, saying that the Arg circle aims to only poison the space and destroy national unity.
“What do you mean by threatening a helpless school teacher or other government employee for cutting their payments or dismissing from their jobs if they do not want to take electronic ID cards?”
Rabbani called on the “national figures” not to let a little circle categorize their language and culture to “insiders and outsiders” and to “original and foreign”.
He concluded that the “inconclusive experience” of the intra-Afghan talks in Qatar proved this matter.
