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Latif Pedram
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Abdul Latif Pedram (; born in 1963), Ph.D., is a politician and a former candidate for presidency in Afghanistan. He emerged as a controversial figure in the press and political circles for campaigning for women's personal rights, a taboo subject in Afghanistan's culture. Currently, he is the leader of the National Congress Party of Afghanistan.
Biography
Born in Badakhshan in 1963 to a Persian-speaking Tajik family, Latif Pedram is a writer, poet, journalist, and professor of Persian literature.
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Encyclopedia
Abdul Latif Pedram (; born in 1963), Ph.D., is a politician and a former candidate for presidency in Afghanistan. He emerged as a controversial figure in the press and political circles for campaigning for women's personal rights, a taboo subject in Afghanistan's culture. Currently, he is the leader of the National Congress Party of Afghanistan.
Biography
Born in Badakhshan in 1963 to a Persian-speaking Tajik family, Latif Pedram is a writer, poet, journalist, and professor of Persian literature. He was director of the library of the Hakim Na?er ?o?row Bal?i Cultural Center. First a supporter of the communist government, he soon began to openly criticize and oppose the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
He stayed in Afghanistan during most of the war years, moving around the country to be able to pursue his activities. Latif Pedram was finally forced into exile by the advance of the Taliban and their policies of ethnic and linguistic segregation. Before returning to Afghanistan after the demise of the Taliban, he lived for a while in France where he attempted to promote Afghanistan's Persian poetry and literature.
Political views
Latif Pedram is a strong supporter of federalism and secularism in Afghanistan. He denounces corruption and strongly opposes Islamic fundamentalism. He advocates an independent, but decentralized Afghanistan, and believes that the country should be divided into autonomous regions under the control of regional capitals. His party is multi-ethnic and is, so far, the only opposition party that is not linked to an armed group.
Perhaps his most controversial statement is the demand for a name-change in Afghanistan. In many publications and articles, he proposed the change of the name "Afghanistan" to "Khorasan", the medieval name of the region, in order to settle some inter-ethnic feuds. His statement is based on the fact that the current name of the country is synonymous with "Land of Pashtuns". The Pashtuns are the largest ethnic group in Afghanistan, comprising ca. 40% of the total population.
Presidential elections 2004
Latif Pedram received the 5th most votes during the 2004 elections, with approximately 1.2% of the total ballots counted, and approximately 17% of the ballots in his home province Badakhshan. Following the outcome, he criticized the government and the results, saying that "large-scale fraud had occurred," which was "completely shameful." Prior to the votes, Latif Pedram had argued that the presidential election should be delayed because of insecurity and to arrange for the whole Afghan diaspora to vote.
2008 controversy
In February 2008, an alleged audio recording of Latif Pedram was aired by various TV channels in Afghanistan, most of them with affinities toward Pashtun nationalism, claiming that Latif Pedram had "disrespected" and "insulted" former king of Afghanistan, Amanullah Khan, who is regarded as a "national hero" by many in the country. This lead to hot editorial crossfires among the press and in the Parliament and Cabinet, echoing with ethnic conflicts when ethnic blocks were identified supporting and criticizing Latif Pedram.
Supporters of the right-wing Afghan Mellat party, the main critics of Latif Pedram, drove a campaign in Paktia, arranging $200,000 as bounty for his head. Following this, the government of Hamid Karzai banned the National Congress Party of Afghanistan and ordered that "comments about former kings, the president and Jihadi leaders are not allowed." Since the incident, Latif Pedram is living under de facto house arrest in Kabul.
While expressing its concern regarding the regression of democracy in Afghanistan one year before the 2009 presidential elections, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has called for the unconditional release of Latif Pedram.
Awards
Latif Pedram has received many international awards, including:
- The Prix Hellman-Helmet (Hellman-Helmet Prize) by Human Rights Watch in July 1999
- A special grant from Reporters sans Frontières in December 1998
He is also an honorary member of:
- The International Parliament of Writers and a guest of the city of Suresnes in France
- The "Association of the Persian speakers of the World" ("Peyvand") and member of the board of editors of Peyvand journal
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