Road to Peace in Afghanistan

Diving into the peace process is not possible at the present time. Indonesia must first undertake peacebuilding efforts, a process of strengthening the capacity of communities to manage conflict in nonviolent ways.

AP Photo

In this Sept. 29, 2015 file photo, a Taliban fighter sits on his motorcycle adorned with a Taliban flag on a street in Kunduz, Afghanistan.

Winston Churchill (1874-1965), who was the prime minister of England for two terms (1940-1945 and 1951-1955), said, "To jaw-jaw is always better than to war-war." However, the talks on Afghanistan\'s future are not easily implemented.

Now, Indonesia has been selected to assist in seeking peace in Afghanistan, a land torn apart by war for 40 years. The initial phase of the conflict settlement will be carried out through a Tripartite Forum between Afghan, Pakistani and Indonesian Islamic clerics and scholars, which will be held this month and have the support of the Nahdlatul Ulama and Muhammadiyah, as well as other groups. However, the Taliban has been calling for a boycott of the meetings in Indonesia.

The Afghan peace is, indeed, difficult to realize. There are many factors. After NATO\'s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) ended its tour (2001-2014), the Taliban insurgency became a major security challenge for the Afghan government. Bombings and suicide bombings was part of the Taliban’s daily fare. Many, many lives were lost. The death of Taliban leader Mullah Oman (2015) was expected to weaken the group, but this did not come to pass.

Many efforts have been taken to secure peace in Afghanistan, but no results have taken root.

Steep road

Indeed, it is not easy to bring peace to Afghanistan. Many parties have been involved, but have only made things worse. The peace efforts must involve at least five parties.

First, the "pro-government group": This certainly includes the Afghan government, as well as the government\'s opposition groups.

Second, the rebels. There are at least three major groups: the Taliban, led by Mullah Mohammad Akhtar Mansoor (formerly led by Mullah Omar), which is controlled from Pakistan; the Haqqani network, which has the support of the Pakistani forces and is the most experienced and sophisticated rebel organization, now headed by Siraj Haqqani, the son of anti-Soviet fighter Jalaluddin Haqqani (Institute for the Study of Women, 2017-2018); and the Hizb-i-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) controlled from Pakistan (GlobalSecurity.org, 2017; Smita Tiwari, 2016) and led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, who also fought against the Soviet Union. The second largest group after the Taliban, the HIG fought along with the Taliban against the NATO coalition forces, but they are also competing for power in Kabul.

Third, the US, the former ISAF and Russia.

Fourth, the regional powers of great influence such as Pakistan, India, Iran and China.

Fifth, disruptive groups that do not want peace and security in Afghanistan, like Al Qaeda and hardline groups in Pakistan that are supporting the Afghan rebels, as well as traders, smugglers and drug dealers who control 90 percent of the world’s opium market from Afghanistan (J Alexander Thier, 2010).

It is not easy to gather these five groups, each with their own agenda and interests, together in dialogue.

Indonesia’s role

So what course can be taken by Indonesia, which has gained the Afghan government’s trust? It is believed that Indonesia has no interest whatsoever in Afghanistan, unlike, for example, regional or superpower countries.

Kompas/Handining

Trias Kuncahyono

Diving into the peace process is not possible at the present time, given the above conditions and situations. Therefore, Indonesia must first undertake peacebuilding efforts, a process of strengthening the capacity of communities to manage conflict in nonviolent ways. Conflict is natural in society; it can make a positive contribution, but it can also have a negative impact.

Peacebuilding is “an act of identifying and supporting the structures that will strengthen and ensure peace to avoid recurrence" (Chr. Michelsen Institute, 2007). That is why peacebuilding should be carried out to increase the trust between individuals and groups in society. In addition, peacebuilding is also needed to restore the legitimacy of state institutions. This can be accomplished if the peacebuilding process involves various parties and different actors, bringing together different opinions and views to formulate and decide upon the priorities to be taken.

This is what Indonesia should do. Although it is not easy, it must be attempted, because we will never know the results if we never dared try to implement it.