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By Abdugani Mamadazimov,
In Politicheskia Historia Tajikskova Naroda
Donish: Dushanbe 2000
Translated by Jeremiah Zartman
The movement for the resurrection of the status of the Tajik language in the end of the 1980s and the beginning of the 1990s came a powerful push for the politicization of the indifferent Tajik Society, and the activation of the citizen's position of the population being led to a final point of obtaining sovereignty for Tajikistan. In the elections of the High committee of the USSR which was organized for the first time were on alternate principles, reform or democratic forces received the first political baptism. In the cities and regions of Soviet Tajikistan public organizations and associations were created: Vahdat in Konibadam and Ura-Tyube in 1988, Oshkor in Kulyab in 1988, Mahrefat in Dushanbe in 1989 and others; fighting for reformation in society. In May 1989, the political club Rue-be-Rue (which means face to face) was organized, which in a short time gained huge popularity in society. However, this political club which discussed the hot social, economic and political issues, showed an unpreparedness of the power structure to a dialogue with society and exposed the low level of cultural of communication amid participants of the discussions and an inability of society too sharp ideological-political arguments or fights.
In such a complex time, on September 15, 1989 the forming meeting of the people's movement Rastokhez took place in which participated more than 150 representative of cities and regions which confirmed the regulations and program of the movement and chose the ruling organ (committee). The movement Rastokhez, like the majority of reform movements of the USSR fought for the weakening of the all-powerful government, the liberalization of the structure, for the abolishment of the notorious 6th Article of the Constitution, and the attainment of economic independence of the republic. In spite of every kind of opposition created by the government, the ruling party, and especially the punitive organs, the movement Rastokhez like a tribune of the humanitarian elite, fighting in the first rows of the battle for the independence of Tajikistan, gradually attained authority and large number of adherents in all corners of the republic.
Very soon the ruling party, worried about its loss of power and prestige in society under the pressure of the reform movements and Islamic revival the ruling party, began to seek a reason for discrediting of these movements. A convenient opportunity arose for the discrediting these two still disunited movements, the reform and the Islamic, from the 4-12th of February in Dushanbe Massive demonstrations and disorderliness began which place provocative gossip about the arrival of Armenians, suffering in the Nagorno-Karabakh war, about assigning them apartments in the capital. This poured oil on the fire, exploding the long patience of the local population, which was pinched in the question of the improvement of living conditions in the capital. Here it stand to observe that fact that the basic population of the capital of the national republic did not consist of a root population, but a population that had immigrated from outer cultural regions which by itself had created a dangerously explosive condition. After this display of anger and irritation, in which traditionally participated every kind of scruffy disreputable person, which lived off of marauding, free-booting and violence, Rastokhez and the Islamic fundamentalists were accused in what had occurred. The Tajik political power in this time refused to cooperate with the reform elements of society. And now some part of the reform movement began to find the possibility of rapproachment with the Islamic movement.
The reform movements of the 1990s repeated the mistake of the reform movement of the 1970, the Jadid, Mladobukharts. If the Tajik reform of the 1920s, after the provocation and the persecution of the Bukharan Emir Olim Khan, which united with the Bolsheviks, actively participated in the overthrowing of the Emirate and the establishment of the new Soviet power, (the result of which they themselves suffered everyone being repressed, only Aini by some miracle survived), then, the reformers of the 1990s after provocation and persecution of the already old soviet power began to unite with the Islamic movement of Tajikistan. Their voices in the powerful Islamic were hardly able to be heard. In such a manner, the national strivings and hopes, with bright expressiveness the reformers displayed, because of their weakness, not only in numbers, but also in spirit and in the first situation by the Soviet organs, and in the second by the Islamic revivalists. At that time the social political transformation in the Soviet Union, accompanied by sharp ethnic conflicts in the national republics (Kazakhstan in Dec, 1986, Georgia April 1989, Karabakh, Jan 1990) in the politics of the Communist Party, which hindered the deeper reformation of society, in final sum led to the quickening fall of the Soviet Union. The higher party leadership of the Soviet Union, for the retaining of the huge empire from falling apart, began to work out various variations of her salvation. One of these variations was the creation of the union of the Soviet (independent) governments, which many people favored. However, the conservative parts of the former Soviet leadership, under the leadership of the chair of the Supreme Soviet (of the parliament) of the SSSR Lukyanova, chairman of the USSR, the chair of the KGB Kruchkov, the Minister of Defense Yazov, and others. Organized on the 18th of August 1991 the revolution (putsch). Having created the government committee of emergency situation, under the chairmanship of Yanaev, they strove to violently remove Gorbachev from power, take the reins of power in their own hands and save the huge empire which in their own eyes was falling apart. However, the population did not support the governmental committee of emergency situations, and reformers, headed by the leading Republic, the Russian SSR, removed the Government committee of emergency situations from power. The August putsch buried the last hopes for the preservation of the Soviet Union, and even the avid supporters, including Soviet Tajikistan, declared their independence in September 1991. The parliament of Soviet Tajikistan, under the national democratic and reform powers of the republic on September 9 also announced the independence of Tajikistan. This was a historical decision, which in deeply basic manner, changed the further political development of a sovereign Tajikistan. However, the sharp competition of the different ideological groups, the weakness of the general national power did not give the possibility, until the end, to value the advantages and ideals of political independence and preserve the political stability in Tajikistan.
The Citizen's Uprising and the Peace Process in Tajikistan
One of the most meaningless wars, which burned on the territories of the former empire, the fratricidal civil war in Tajikistan, clearly demonstrated to all where the elementary transition from authoritarianism to democracy leads. Without a doubt, this process has its own advantages. The advantages include the liberalization of the regime the expansion of political rights and freedoms, the removal of administrative limitations, and the appearance of many parties' voices and pluralism. But even positive changes, should not carry destruction with unpredictable results. Even more so it must not have a place of revolutionary leaps, the tumbling from one edge of bolshevism to another the dogma of Islamic fundamentalism, or as they say in the East, running from a thief and running into a bandit.
In Tajikistan in 1992-1996 we observed such a dangerous tendency. Maneuvering with agility, maximally using the fight between the communists and the democrats, the Islamist created their own party, the Islamic Revival Party of Tajikistan, which in a very short time period became one of the most influential political forces in the country. Several reasons led to this situation. First, the fall of the empire and the destruction of its pillars, such as the ruling of the one party and the monopoly of its ideology, which is Marxist-Leninism, which led to amplification of the centrifugal forces and the creation of an ideological vacuum. Second, the low level of political culture of society, which appeared in the passive masses, who were trained and formed by the system where a person was viewed as a immature child of the powerful, capable government. And he, this child, being found in new situations, was not able to independently confirm himself in life. The official leaders, who were used to the non-aggression to the leadership, were unaccustomed to the initiative and independence, were not able to adequately react to the changes in public consciousness.
Thirdly, the economic backwardness and the separation of the republic into regions forcibly interfered with the development of a single national idea. The appearance of a capable political force, and its irreconcilability with regards to existing basic values, ideals and goals of societal development, led to the limit of political instability in the final splitting of society into two warring camps - modernist (nucleus was the Leninabod province, Kulyab, and the Hissor valley), and their opponents the traditionalists, which included the Islamists, the ethnocrats from the democratic bloc, which used the support of the leaders of the inhabitants of the Gharm valley, Gorno-Badakhshan, and several regions of Kurgan-Tyube Oblast.
The first group, called the Leninabodists was armed with the slogans of the fight against the Islamic fundamentalists. The second group, the Gharmis fought in its turn for the cleansing of the morals and rituals and for the re-establishment of traditional structures of society. This rebellion laid bare historical offenses and the difference between the regions, which was served by the long lack of a single centralized Tajik government, the lack of a generally recognized center, and differences in regional mentalities, conditions of life (the inhabitants of the valleys vs. mountain dwellers), languages, (Tajik with its various dialects - Shugnani, Rushani, Vakhani). Religion played its own role, The majority confessed to be Sunni, Ismaili, and so forth. This disunity of people caused the low level of political culture. Therefore, in the political life of the republic the factor of regional subjective contradiction plays a large role. The Tajik people have a greater awareness of their loyalty to their locality rather than to their nation. The majority of the population adheres to groups which present local or regional interest and recognize only their own priorities.
The habit of living in the conditions of Eastern paternalism which was assisted for the determining of the minimal level of social defense (The Dekhan (villager) was always satisfied with one Nan and a cup of tea, often without sugar). The feeling of freedom atrophied. This gave birth to slavish humility and submission. The many centuries of history of Central Asia, including the Tajiks, testifies that the people never lived in the conditions of democracy, never had real power by the people. The face personified the power: Shah, Khan, Sultan or Amir. This attitude of the people catches well both conflicting forces which, from all power strive to use it in its own goals. The foundational basis of modernists, the Leninabod oblast and the central city Khujand. traditional supporters (contractor or purveyor) of the official leadership of the republic. This foundational basis was not able to form leaders of the new formation, answering to the demands of the time. The bright testimony of this serves the inglorious exit of President Nabiev from the presidential post, the liquidation of the presidential form of power which was later renewed again.
The second side did give a prop on the standing out of the spiritual leader (in the face of the head of the Muslims of the Republic Qazi Kalon Haji Akbar Turajonzoda) fully ignoring reality. And this consists in the fact that, although the Party of Islamic Revival of Tajikistan and the Qaziate had in several regions of the Republic a far position al the more so the people of Tajikistan did not want to live in an Islamic theocracy. The appearance of an Islamic in the hearts of the East, on the ruins of the powerful Empire did not raise the enthusiasm of neighboring former Soviet republics which are now independent states. There are several reasons for such a conclusion. First, the Tajik people, as other peoples of Central Asia, on the whole confess Islam of the Sunni interpretation, which is inherently led by a secular power, in distinction from the Shiites where the spiritual power can dominate over the secular, for example, Iran; second, the many years of rule by Communists, their unrecognition and discrimination in regards to religion, (in our case to Islam) and the consequence from this (positive or negative, that is a different conversation) third, the attainment and the most developed oblast of the republic standing out like modernists, competitors of the Islamists, fourth, the cares and worries of the countries of Central Asia, Russia and China, in regards tot he escalation of the Tajik conflict, and the promotion of ideas of Islamic government and the negative attitude to the latter.
In this confused time a great number of leaders appeared of various caliber (Beginning from the Makhallinsk until the national heroes different regions). Amid these it is possible to divide into leaders adventurist, striving for serf assertion and the seizure of power, unwilling leaders of whom the political wave pushed them unto the stage of conflict, leaders populist who manipulating the emotions and the mood of the crowd sought selfish and clan goals. By the criteria of division of leaders the goal serves that which follows that or other leader, selection of means and manner of her accomplishment or achievement. The appearance of informal leaders is a phenomenon of our transitional time. It, in part is a criteria of the low level of political culture of official leaders, shown in their unpreparedness and inability to lead people. Being torn from the masses and incapable of controlling the situation. When the striving process of politicization of organizations, which reflect the very different, frequently opposing ideas and movements. If earlier the administrative system did not recognize non-ordinary people whoa re creative and critical thinkers, then today such people make up the bones of various movements, parties and other mass organizations. For several of these, participation in politics became a means of compensation of personal and creative failure, and the means of self-confirmation and recognition. Therefore, on the political horizon of the republic we find not only former party and social actors, but also a majority of people of various professions, journalists, historians, cinematographers, representatives of the criminal worlds, racketeers, recidivists of various ranks. This is a clear sign of the unsatisfactory level of political culture, the national governmental self-awareness of society. Motives for participation in politics are various, from the altruistic to the fight for democracy and the revival of society to the selfish striving for power, fame and wealth.
Simultaneously the process of the politicization of the masses, including them in politics, overcoming the many years of alienation, not only from the successive traditional historical culture, and morality, but also from the participation in the realization of power. These expenses strongly hindered the introduction into the political process. Accompanied by the lack of culture of polemics, respect for other views, tolerance to the point of view of the opponent, and the lack of respect for constitutional structures. Rallies, strikes, alternative demonstrations, hunger strikes by political motives became the form of the masses' political behavior. This enabled the radicalization of the awareness of the masses, where various gossips, myths and false illusions dominated. But this led to the politicization of the crowd, the paralysis of power, which begat the dangerous phenomenon of mob rule. Signs of mob rule appeared, the mutual exclusion of one another's decrees of parliament, and the orders of the president of the republic accepted under the pressure of the rallying crowd, the endless and ineffective transferals of the cadres in the structures of law making and the executive branches of government, the ignoring of power structures, leading to the political boycott of the regions of the republic, and finally, the most dangerous, the formation and action of illegal armed groups and their disobedience to official power.
All of these negative tendencies led to the national catastrophe. First there was the opposition of the rallying squares, Freedom Square for the supporters of the legitimate president and Martyr's Square for the leaders of the opposition, which grew in the final form the unthinkable civil war. The simple people were not accustomed to the custom of elections. It was not possible to find a path of exit from the critical situation. To him it is closer to the principle of regional loyalty than to national whole. He is more satisfied by the prosperity of the region than by the whole country. On this favorable soil, leaders of various calibers and movements strive to the attainment of the basic goal of power. In the presence of this, they appeal to the peoples manipulating their self-awareness and playing on their emotions. But this fight of leaders and their clans did not enable the political stabilization, the removal of tensions in the republic. But instead on the deepening of the political crisis. Bringing innumerable misfortunes, the alienation of the population of various regions from each other, sowing between them mistrust and hostility that finally led to dependence on economically developed countries. Above was highlighted the concerns of neighboring nations concerning the political instability in the republic. Tajikistan is a multi-ethnic republic, Tajiks are 66%, Uzbek 23% Russians, 7%, Kyrgyz 1% plus others. Therefore, there was a threat of the outbreak of interethnic conflict, which may by chain reaction hit other governments. The first order against Uzbekistan and Russia. In Uzbekistan, people feared that it would lead to the activation of the Tajik portion of the republic, (which was more than a million people, especially in Samarkand and Bukhara and parts of the Ferghana valley) and the Islamic opposition (especially in regions bordering with Tajikistan in the Namangan oblast). Uzbekistan was carefully following the events in its neighboring republic. Uzbekistan and other Central Asian governments, having chosen a secular path of societal development, was concerned by the threat of the enlargement of Islamic fundamentalism, which ruled in the minds of several parts of neighboring peoples. Islamic fundamentalism, distinguished from other Islamic currents by its warlike tone, fanaticism, and implacability to other thoughts, supporting international terrorism, may quickly spread in poor backward regions of Central Asia, where the indecision of a multitude of life problems push the people into an embrace of spirituality. The political illiterate, obedient dehkans (villagers), whose position worsens with every day in the difficult period of transformation of society, strives to find comfort and patronage protection in traditional religion. But spirituality, having experienced humiliation and discrimination in the years of communist rule, tried to use the desperate position of the masses for the reestablishment of its dominating place in all spheres of life. Its radical part called the people to civil disobedience to the existing political regime.
The idea of Islamic government became a powerful push to the ever-increasing immigration of the Russian speaking population of Tajikistan. Russian were the first to feel themselves in the role of an undesirable minority after the interference of part of the 201st Russian division in this conflict. The actions of this division in not one way was perceived in the republic, gave birth to anti-Russian attitudes. The announcements and actions of the ethnocrats of the anti-Communist bloc were accompanied by the exodus of Russian speaking parts of the population. The headlong process of Islamic revival is an inseparable part of the national regeneration, its radical display. The politicization of Islam and Islamism of politics is an answering reaction to the long governmental policy of repressing religion in the Soviet Union from the life of society and the prohibition of its propaganda and proselytizing. Spirituality did not disappear from the political arena, but was divided into official, which insinuated itself into governmental institutes and was loyal to the governmental regime, the unofficial, shady spirituality, the position of which Islamic society was determined by ancestry, authority and moral qualities.
In the political history of the peoples of Central Asia, religion (Islam) occupies one of the leading positions, equally with secular government, in which on several pieces of time, religion dominated over secular government. The prevalence or striving for domination of religion is found in those epochs during which government institutions suffer deep crisis, where subjects find support in something else, frequently in faith and religion. Therefore in our republic, the confessional factor is "one of the leading agents of political socialization, as an introduction into political culture." At the beginning of the political instability, spiritual leaders in the party of Islamic Revival of Tajikistan showed that they were capable of mobilizing masses for political participation and political shares and election. During the Presidential elections in the fall of 1991, the opposition bloc, (democrats and Islamists) where the leading role was played by the Party of Islamic regeneration of Tajikistan nominated for candidacy of the president, Davlat Khudonazarov, who was a famous cinematographer and actor of the republic. In the elections, by official figures received 31% of the votes (by the opinion of the opposition, these figures are too low) this was the success full political debut of Islamists. Taking into account the lack of democratic traditions or free elections, for many years elections were run on the principle: "One position-one candidate." The Party of Islamic Revival of Tajikistan promoted moderate slogans and categorically denied the goal of a creation of an Islamic government. The defeat of this party in the presidential elections afterwards amplified the influence of radical Islamic actors, who did not recognize the election results. They expressed that the communists had the power as before, stained by the persecution of religion and inability to resurrect traditional ideals and manner of life. Therefore, Islamists were decisively incited against the existing regime, and presented radical slogans of the type, "Down with .. . " and "Death to . . " Further events developed according tot he Algiers scenario. Islamic leaders were oriented on an extreme display of political culture of confrontation, on the solution of extreme fateful problem, with the position of forceful pressure and raising up of such characteristics as impatient to the smallest dissenter and irreconcilability, political blackmail and the manipulation of social awareness. They considered striving to the goal of consensus the consideration of the position of opponents, the regulation of dissension by civil means to be a sign of weakness. The culmination of this opposition was the opposition of the above mentions squares - Martyrs and Freedom. This opposition headed by Islamic leaders (In the first row the statesman of the party of Islamic Revival of Tajikistan) Square Azodi, these were the supporters of official power. A sensible person, a creator on these squares armed with the slogan who is not with us is against us, showed himself like a child of hate, destruction, fear, hate, mobs and violence. In the crowds in the squares accrued such a potential that destroyed the process of civilized peaceful movement to democracy, and the renewal of the republic. This opposition of the main squares of the capital graphically demonstrated the unsatisfactory condition of political culture, national state, self-awareness, their faults and defects.
Islamic leaders, still dividing the people according to the principle of ours vs. aliens destroyed the prescription of classical Islam of the unity of representatives of the Umma, of all Islamic society. The traditional Hanafi of the Sunni interpretation of Islam to which the vast majority of Muslims hold, they opposed Wahabbism, the religious political current in Sunni Islam. Its fanaticism in questions of faith and extremism in fights with its own political opponents differentiate this current in Islam from others. The idea of jihad occupies and important place in it, the fight for faith. The calls and actions of the radically incited leaders armed with the ideology of the war-like Wahabbism led to the split in the rows of Islamic spiritualism. The moderate wing of Islamic leaders stood out against the politicization of Islam. Motivated by the fact that the politicization of faith and the creation of a political party of Islam contradicts the Koran. From these positions stood out the head of Muslims of Central Asia and Kazakhstan, centered on Tashkent, but the radical wing presented demands for more active participation in the political life of society in order to in ful measure defend the interests of Islamic society, her customs and prescriptions. Although they emphasized that government must remain secular, it does not follow that the spiritual should be located by power. Simultaneously, they said regarding the revival of the role of Islam in society, the norm of the Shariat in every day life. But in the demands of these flexible and far-seeing politicians was located a "delayed reaction mine." Since not a single sensible person could imagine a "peaceful co-existence of constitutional law of a secular government with the norms of Shariat in every day life, that is, to mix the unmixable." Therefore, this unrealistic double power momentarily would be destroyed in practice, and power would find itself in the hands of those who had greater popularity in society. If one takes into account that in Tajikistan the agricultural population dominates over the urban and in the village the influence of spirituality is sufficiently strong, then the instilling of the norms of Shariat would immediately lead to the growth of its popularity.
To the radical wing of the Islamic opposition of Tajikistan. In the first order these neighboring Islamic governments, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan. Saudi Arabia and others gave material and spiritual help to the Islamic opposition. Among these, Afghanistan was especially zealous, supplying armed groups with new weapons, war supplies and even fighters, instructors in the rows of Islamic opposition. Leaders in these Islamic governments want to use Tajikistan in the quality of a vanguard, for the further dissemination of ideas about Islamic government in different Islamic republics and regions of the former Soviet Union., and the creation on their place of a powerful Islamic empire (Which would include Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and so forth). It is important to take into account, that the noble Bukhara in the course of several hundreds of years was the spiritual center, and kind of Mecca for Maverannnahr, (the historical name of Central Asia). The unquestionable authority and glory of her spiritual scholarly institutions, and the Ulema, spread far past the boundaries of the region. Therefore, the Islamic statesman would not be satisfied with only Tajikistan. The opposition of the squares Azodi and Shahidon, in the spring of 1992, and its following consequences also demonstrated the insolvency and unreceptivity of existing in society type of political culture, in extraordinary situations of new reality. The main thing here was the following circumstance: if a politician or party statesman was "located on top" it meant that he was the most intelligent and capable to lead people. In the new conditions, after the freeing from guardianship and destruction of the center of (Moscow). The official leaders of the republic found themselves to be under the onslaught of the strengthening anti-Communist bloc, which besides the PIVT (Islamic Revival Party) including the democratic party, the people's movement Rastokhez, and the regional movement La'li Badakhshan). The attainment of independence and political independence placed before the powers a very difficult and fateful decision. The formation and strengthening of the true independence government and its institutions with consideration of the attainment of the republic and its ancient traditions and interests.
The official powers were not able to fulfill this task, in their actions they displayed indecisiveness and lack of confidence. Mistakes and miscalculations made by them were used by their political opponents. In the Sum of their actions, the majority of the structures of government were paralyzed, which led to the triumph of the crowd. (mob rule)
The economic deterioration of life, high prices, deformation of production, social connections, unprincipled use of power, and irreconciliability of the opposition, led to the demoralization of politicized popular mass, its transformation into a crowd, Society was subject to anarchy and chaos. These negative appearances were accelerated and deepened by the lack in society of sufficient level of political culture, the weakness of a general national identity, the lack of democratic traditions, norms and models of individual behavior. Even the coalition government (summer of 1992) which included members of the opposition was not able to retain in the republic which was slow by surely falling into civil war. The mistrust and suspicion of leaders of groups who chose the path of confrontation were not equipped by the strengthening of this last compromise. [The coalition was not able to stop these leaders from choosing the path of confrontation]. The falling apart of the governmental structure caused the activation of criminal world. In Dushanbe, the attorney general of the country, N. Khuvaidulloev, was murdered. Criminal elements essentially influenced the further development of political crisis. One part calling itself the "Youth of the City of Dushanbe" forced President R. Nabiev to quickly decide to leave the capital and retire. Sangak Safarov, the head of the Kulyab armed formation, took advantage of the illegitimacy of this forceful action. He won much popularity by taking a stand in defense of the "illegally deposed" president. Sangak threw out a challenge to the armed powers with the capture of Kurgan-teppe. In the republic, the civil war began (Fall 1992) which split her into two armed camps. On one side was the Kulyab formation, headed Sangak Safarov, Besides the Kulyab oblast they were supported by the people of Leninabod oblast, and part of the Hissor valley and Kurgan-teppe oblast, Uzbeks and other national minorities. Consequently they united into the People's Front of Tajikistan. On the other side were the warriors of the Islamic Party of Tajikistan and the Democratic bloc, which enjoyed the support of the citizens of Gharm, the Pamir region, and parts of Kurgan-teppe. Both opposing forces recruited warriors from mainly marginal and criminal backgrounds, giving evidence to the fall of moral and humanitarian values, where means methods and of decision of daily problems in root is distinguished from civilized means. Materials of means of mass communications (radio, television, and newspapers of Tajikistan and other countries) were full of information and accusations in address of both armed groups, which in the midst of the capture of population centers released prisoners from camps and recruited them into their own ranks.
After the retirement of R. Nabiev, A. Iskandarov was chosen to act as chairman of the Supreme Soviet to fulfill the duties of the President. The coalition government spread it power in the capitol and the nearby regions. The Kulyab formation with the unspoken help of the northern part of the republic, and also other republics of the CIS strengthened its ranks and increased its weapons, threatening the capital with a blockade.
The attempt at regulating the Tajik conflict from the side of the members of the CIS was not crowned with success. The illegitimacy of the new leadership of the republic served as and excuse for the refusal of the introduction of peacekeepers of the CIS, but Kyrgyzstan, receiving the mandate for the introduction of its peace-keeping battalion, faced the refusal of its own Parliament. In these conditions, the introduction of soldiers would mean the support of one of the sides and the interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign government.
Soon, the coalition government announced its own dismissal.
The single exit from the deepest of crisis, anarchy and the ending of the fratricidal war was the call of the session of Parliament (November 1992). The 16th Session of the Supreme Soviet (Parliament) took place not in the capitol, but in Khujand, the center of the Leninabad oblast. The political stability of the oblast, untouched by war, and the far position of the power structure of the region in much predetermined the outcome of the session of the Supreme Soviet of Tajikistan.
In this session the deputies recognized the illegality of the retirement of the President and approved a new announcement of Nabiev's resignation. A new speaker of the parliament was chosen, since the presidential form of government was disbanded. Emomali Rakhmonov, the Chairman of the Kulyab oblast soviet, was chosen as the new speaker.
The first steps of the new head of the republic testified that in his actions were present the logic not of confrontation but of consolidation and of healthy thought. He showed himself to be a tough and flexible politician. The Reaction of the election of E. Rakhmonov as the head of the Republic was not of single meaning. In the Republic, where the principle of "us vs. them" plays a large role, the ancestry of leader traditionally carries a big meaning. The leader of the Republic was the one representing the side of the majority in Parliament and who was supported by the armed forces. His growth into the leader of a national scale was awaited by all.
It is necessary to consider, that in the political history of our people the person always played an important role, the person personified power, therefore, the "strong man" of power is more preferred over the "weak man." The result of activity and the inglorious exit of R. Nabiev is a bright example of this. It was time to understand that the attempt to transform society only on the basis of acknowledgement of ones rights and actions inescapably leads to anarchy to the power of the mob, which creates favorable soil for the coming of dictatorship. Therefore, a leader must stand over the political resistance and regional ______, he must unite the better mindes and healthy forces of society to overcome the crisis in society and find and exit from the political and economic dead-end.
Very soon the new leader of the country, E. Rakhmonov began to justify the demands and hopes of the people, directed toward the quick ending of the civil resistance the achievement of peace.
The intentional transformation of Rakhmonov from a regional leader to a national one became possible thanks to his clear understanding that the continuing ideological and war-political resistance could be blamed on two national ideologies (communism and pan-Islamism) and the separation movement of the regions.
If the over-national Communist ideology, realizing its principles "Proletariat of all countries, unite!" and "Religion is the opium for the masses", elevated one layer (the workers) of society of the others and announced the whole class of society (spiritual) is a harmful phenomena and hindered the national unification of the Tajik people, then the pan-Islamists' ideology remained true to its slogan "Muslims of the whole world are brothers," in fact declared the Russian speaking population to be "outside the law," placed the confessional unity as higher to the national and hindered the international harmony and national consolidation of all Tajiks.
If the above-national ideology (communism and pan-Islam) ignored the national unity, which was an ideological hindrance to the national consolidation, then the regional separation movement tore the unity of the people from within, dividing Tajiks into Kulyabis, Khujandis, Badakhshanis and Hissoris, Gharmis, etc.
And from this most complicated position, E. Rakhmonov found an exit. "Who are we, from where, from which roots did we come?" writes, E. Rakhmonov in the introduction of his book "Tajiks in the Mirror of History," "Who were are first ancestors, from which regions did they come, and in what borders did they live? Where does one begin, to the shores of which time begins the history of civilization and government of Tajiks? What kind of historical investment of our nation in the conception and further development of the joint civilization of Aryans? Does our language, manner of life, and historical and culture inheritance have its own national origin or have we taken them from other nations?"
The search for the roots, the manifestation of the "historical inheritance", the "national origins" of the Tajik people led him to the conclusion about the unsuitability of the dominating in Tajik society of the ideological-political values (communism, pan-Islamism and regional separatism) for the attainment national unity and social harmony, which is so necessary for the further sovereign development of Tajikistan. In his thoughts and actions, E. S. Rakhmonov began to relay on the pre-Islamic national values, in first order, on the Zoroastian triad: good thought, good word?, good actions" In modern conditions of Tajikistan realization of these noble words means the constaint striving to the ending of the fratricidal war (and not about the destruction of the enemy) and in the offering of a hand of help to the repentant the lost and the suffering fellow countryman.
E.S. Rakhmonov, not dividing and ruling one's people by ideological tints, colors ("white", "red", and green), began to think about the soon ending of civil resistance and the return of a huge number of refuges and those forced to relocate (approaching one million people) on the motherland.
"Until the last refugee is returned to the motherland, I will not sleep peacefully." These words of E.S. Rakhmonov in his famous presentation at the 16 session of the High Council of Tajikistan in November of 1992 became the creed, and though of his life.
To the time of obtainment of independence by Tajikistan amid a determined part of the intelligentisia was conceived a huge interest to Zoroastrianism, to their Arian past and Avestian traditions. This historical-cultural and enlightened movement did not participate in the hotly contested competition of ideological-political values and traditions and gradually allowed the enablement of the peace process in the country.
E.S. Rakhmonov, despite the desperate resistance of the pro-communistic beaurocrats and officials gave 50,000 hectars (later another 25 thousand hectars) of land to Dekhan. In such a manner, he gave rebirth to the honorable status of the noble class of dekhans, true landowners, who served as the basis of all previous Tajik states before Islam. This noble class, acclaimed in the "Avesta" and "Shaknama," was gradually replaced by the religious class, on large (Vakfni) lands on which they worked, like serfs. During the Soviet period, although the Dekhan class was acclaimed as an "ally" of the ruling worker class, nonetheless, was forced into Kolkhozes and Sovkhozes and in fact was depersonified. Therefore, the dekhan (farmer) to this time is still concerned by society as a member of the kolkhoz, a non-initiative and dependent class.
A rejuvenated dekhan class would be able to newly take its worth place and be a foundation for the state.
The reconciliatory and creative course of E.S. Rakhmonova began to be understood by the moderate wing of the United Tajik Opposition (UTO), which was formed outside the country and functioned in Afghanistan., Iran, Russia and in other neighboring countries. Leaders of the opposition from the Islamic and democratic movements begane to understand the new policy of the government, which was directed toward the reducing of the economic crisis (especially supporting the dekhan) and the tough position in relation to the armed opposition. They also began to seek possibilities to begin peace talks. Somber and moderate leaders of the UTO, who were in neighboring Afghanistan, saw with their own eyes the futility of civil war for its people. Patriotically-oriented leaders (S.A. Nuri, Otakhon Latifi, Abdunabi Sattorsoda and others) began to consider negations for peace.
In large part thanks to the efforts toward establishing peach and national harmony as quickly as possibly by the chairmain of the Supreme Soviet E.S. Rakhmonov and the leader of the UTO Saida Abdullo Nuri, inter-Tajik negotiations began in April 1994. These negations were held in government-garantees for the regulation of the conflict. The conflicting sides gradually came to agreenment, step after step. Of course, the inter-Tajik negotiations did not occur smoothly. Several times they were under threat of being interrupted.
According to the Account for Human Development (Bishkek): "As a result of the war in Tajikistan in 1992 and 1993, 50, 000 people were killed and 850,000 became refugees." The number of people who changed places of residence within the country is from 600,000 to 700,000 people. The number of refugees located outside the boundaries of the country consist of 60, 000 in Afghanistan, about 195,000 in republics of the former Soviet Union: Russia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. The number of orphans reached 55,000, 25,000 women became widows. According to the Ministry of Labor, 35,723 houses were destroyed, of these 21,740 were completely destroyed.
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This horrible consequences of civil war and the continuing large scale fighting in Tavildara and in Karateginskaja valley hung over the inter-Tajikistan negotiations and threatened to disrupt them. From such a complicated situation, the direct meetings between the President of the Republic E.S. Rakhmonov and the leader of the UTO A. Nuri led the negations out of a dead-end and gave them a new pulse. One such decisive meetingn took place in Northen Afghanistan which itself was engulfed by war. Despite the lack of a guarantee of safety, E.S. Rakhmonov went to Khosdekh, where he met with A.S. Nuri on the 10-11 of December, 1996. At this meeting under the mediation of the special representative of the General Secretary of the UN in Tajikistan, G.D. Merrema and with the direct participation of the president of IGA Burkhoniddina Rabbani, the minister of defense of Afghanistan Ahmad shah Masud, a protocol was signed concerning the regulation of military situation in zones of resistance.
In accordance with the protocol, both sides took upon themselves the obligation starting from the 12th of December, 1996, to end all war actions. This historical meeting had a critical meaning and led the negotiational process to the final stage.
As such the inter-Tajik negotiations for national reconciliation were successfully concluded and the 27th of June was declared as the Day of National Unity.
Soon after, on the 15th of 1997 the first session of the Committee for National Reconciliation (CNR) began. This committee was organized in accordance to the General Agreement For Peace and consisted of representatives of the government and UTO on a parity basis. Four committees were organized: political, military, refugees and legal. The CNR in close contact with the government of Tajikistan and with the active support of international organizations, especially structural divisions of the UN in Tajikistan as well as the neighboring countries of Russia, Iran, Uzbekistan, and other coordinated the large scale returning of refugees and those force to relocated to a permanent location, the reintergration of armed divisions of the opposition into the armed and law-defending structures of government and the integration of political forces of the former opposition into organs of management. The relative endurance and political stability of the post-conflict stage of the sovereign development of Tajikistan was made possible due to the conducting by the political leadership of the country, headed by E.S. Rakhmonov, of a policy of the flexible national unity and the regeneration of traditionally national traditions and values, and especially the noble teachings of Zoroastrism and thanks to the restraining of two supernational ideologies (communism and pan-Islamism) in equal separation from power.
A bright example of this policy of national unity was shown by E.S. Rakhmonov (I am getting tired of writing his name, from now on I'll write R. ) when he traveled to the Kulma pass immediately after signing the general agreement about the establishment of peace on the 14 of July in 1997. Kulma is on the Tajik-China border and is the location of the beginning construction of the Shokhroki Vakhdat. This historical trip by the head of the government signified the transition of the republic on a qualitatively new stage of development: the stage of creating in sovereign Tajikistan a new road along the route: Kulma-Khorog-Kulab-Dushanbe-Aini-Khujand-Isfara. The construction of the Shokru Vakhdat is equal to the creation of the "standing ridge" of sovereign Tajikistan.
The constant care of Rakhmonov about the construction of the Shokrokhi Vakhdata displayed his new qualities, and the Tajik people saw in him not only a peacemaker, but also a creater, and therefore they actively voted for him during the alternative presidential elections in November of 1999.
The process of democratization of society and the liberalization of political institutions of government
Any society is first and foremost an organic whole, a natural product of history. It is constructed from determined mutual connections and dependent parts, which enable the evolution and modernization of society.
If society is well organized, if its comprising parts work in harmony, then the process of modernization obtains an optimal character. In conditions of structural deficiencies and uncertainties, in conditions of breaking system values and traditions, society partially or fully loses its ability to rationally modernize its structures. In such a society the feeling of alieness increases and a pessimistic attitude predominates. Development stalls or a crisis in development forms. If we consider that political cultural is the moving mechanism of political process, then the acting kinde of political culture, which enables the stability of society and serves as the guarantee of modernization of society, should, taking into account new realities, become more perfect and be enriched with new elements and components or be replaced by a new type of political culture.
Sovereign Tajikistan critically needs pluralistic political culture, the nucleus of which is the synthesis of traditions and innovations where the first is given preference.
Namely the synthesis of traditions and progress for our young government with its incomplete structures in conditions of post-conflict rebuilding is capable of protecting the Tajik nation and its government. New general national ideas must be developed which would lead to national agreement and consolidation. This would be accomplished by the replacement of fragmentary political culture, which is confrontational in its nature, by a stable plurastic political culture, which, in turn, would cause the general awareness by society of local-territorial community to grown into national-governmental self-awareness.
Various myphs and ideologies of government formations, in which the Tajik people lived (except for the governments of the Peshdodov, Keianidov, and Samanidov) could in noway enable the all-encompassing growth, as they where alien to the hopes and desires of the long-suffering Tajik people.
As one point populating all of Central Asia (Maverannakhr) and the adjoining regions, Tajiks and their Iranian-speaking ancestors, due to the ruling in social awareness of religious ideas ("All muslims are brothers") lost the instinct of self defense, and gradually gave up their position first to the Turkish-speaking muslim traveling tribes, and then later even to gentiles - Mongols and finally to Orthodox Russian. Under the Russian conquerors and their descendents, the Bolsheviks (namely under the Bolsheviks the Vassal, but maintaining independence, Emirate of Bukhara, was destroyed, and whose territory was included in the new empire) completed the volionent tearing away of Tajiks from the Islamic world and its culture and began the joining through Russia of Tajikistan to Western technical values.
But, the organic combination of century-old traditions with western innovations did not occur. Tsarist Russia conquered the body, and the Marxist-Leninist Bolsheviks took over the minds of Tajiks, but the heart remained unconquered (that is Islam was not overthrown, but just went underground). The change of the traditional face was only surface deep. The new ruling ideology (Marxism-Leninist Bolsheviks) rallied for the modernization of the Rupublic by unique methods with the help of importing foreigner workers, who in its basic mass did not acquire the traditional skills and abilities of managing the economy, especially in the agrarian sector. A visual example - the management of an official, formerly an oilworker from Tumin, of the spring field work and harvist of cotton and so forth.
The consequences of such a model of development are already well known: the non-determination of the social-cultural sphere of society, the splitting of the republic into the industrially developed north and the agricultural-backward south.
The consequences of the ruling super-national ideas (Panislam, or the idea of a confessional unity, and Marxism-Leninism, the idea of class struggle) in our republic are very gloomy: the loss of a great amount of territory and the historical-cultural center of Tajikst, the loss of a genuine independent national government, the split of the republic into two parts, the militarization of two oppositing ideological political groups, the disbalance of the economy, and the deep national crisis.
The growing dissatisfaction of the population with its living level, the fall of the volume of manufactured goods, the sharp rise of unemployment and crime and other negative phenomena is transformed into a negative attitude toward the existing structures of power and management. to the negative attitude of the existing
Growing dissatisfaction within the population with its standard of living, the falling volume of production, the sharp rise in unemployment and crime and other negative phenomena transforms into a negative attitude toward the existing structures of power and management, to proposed measures for leading the government out of its deep crisis. After the fall of empire, the republic has a very large problem: the building of an independent government with its complete structures. What should the first independent Tajik government be like?
The search of models of "an ideal government", in which private interests should organically combine with public desires, has occupied the minds of political thinkers beginning in the Antiquities (Aristotle, Platon, and others). The political thought of the West after a stubborn search for an "ideal government" developed the idea of a legal rights, class and national government, which has its own answers on the construction of an "ideal government." The Islamic regional political thought developed the idea of a Khaliphate, Imamate, and Sultanate. In a Khalifat (Khalif, in translation from the Arabic is "replacement", "inheritor"), all the secular and spiritual power is located in the hands of the "orthodox ruler" - the khalif. The problem of the character of the khalifata (power) and its practical realization served as the basis for the sharp political fight during the early stage of Islam, leading to the appearance of its basic currents: Sunnism, Shiism, and Kharidzism. Sunnis remained true to tradition. Kharidzhiti stood for the full choosing of the Khalifat.
The teaching about the Imamat (Arabic for "leader"), which is in principle identical to the Khalifat, became one of the founding dogmas of Shiism. The principle distinction of Shiite interpritation in contrast with Sunni and Kharadzhiti consists in the fact that Shiites proclaim the Imamat as "God-ordained", and independent from the desires of people and belonging completely to the family of Ali (on of the four "rightes Khalifs"). Gradually the Khalifs lose power over the basic part of the Islamic possession, remaining the head of the Islam world. With the appearance of independent states the teaching about the Sultan becomes more widespread (Sultanate - "power", "strength"), under which is understood governmental power. The great Islam thinker M. Gazali (11th century) intended under this only the secular ruler in contrast to the spiritual head, the Khalif (Imam). The Independent rulers, the destruction of Abbasidov by the Mongols, recognized the spiritual sovereignity of the Khailf (in the personality of the surviving Abbasidov - the Mamluki of Egymt, the Osmanski Sultans), which were necessary for the giving of legitimacy of secular powers and the raising of her authority. The clear contrast of the Sultanate and the Khalifat is not observed. Here we consider and analyze, which of these teaching about government could correspond to the realities of our republic.
Research into the political culture of the Tajik people showed that the Tajik people lived in the bosom of two large government formations - the Arabic Khalifat and the late Muslim dynasties, and the Soviet Union (class government). Presently we are reaping the bitter fruit of the ideologies of these governments (Panislam, and Marxism-Leninism): on one side, the Islamic world and culture, from which we were forcibly torn, but which was kept in the memory, and on the other side, the western liberal-legal culture of civilization, elements of which have not been secured in society because of the desperate resistance of civilization.
Many local politicians believe that before the republic is a dilemma - either western liberal-legal civilization, or Islamic civilization, without a third way (perhaps due to a lack of faith in one's strengths and possibilities). We consider that a choice of one of the competing modes in pure form will lead to the strengthening of this struggle and the split of the republic into a few hostile parts. Therefore we will continue the search of optimal models of government.
Ideal legal government - government as a result of the social contract between independent individuals, where the famous principle of "life, liberty and private property" (John Locke) triumphs, which corresponds to the realities of the Western-Christian world, where private property is untouchable. This liberal program cannot successfully be realized in our republic, which with its cultural peculiarities and traditions in a rooted manner differs from the western world. Tajikistan is a traditional society, the peoples of which for thousands of years lived in the conditions of eastern paternalism. For the eastern conscious of the all-powerful government was not a result of some sort of "social contract" between people, but of a "creation of an absolute God" which is managed by his "chosen representative here on earth." Therefore, man and not government must be in constant submission to the government. Government in the person of its leader is understood as the carrier of social, political, and economic power at the same time. In the framework of the commanding and administrative structures of the eastern government of private property, which in the West served as the guarantee of civil rights and freedom form am person, is considered secondary, and under submission and firmly controlled by government power. Here on the scene appears the phenomenon of "power-property", analyzed by L.S. Vasilevim. Even Marxistic socialism in the republic is one of the softened modifications of Eastern government.
Yet another essentional factor: the ideology of liberalism, insisting on the equality of civil rights for a person, does not declare the equality of rights for every nation on independent economic, political and cultural development. Namely the Christian wolrd, exploiting theh inquality between them (industrially developed and technically strong) and the weak countries of the rest of the world, conquered them and used their natural and human resources not for the good of all mankind, but only for their narrow egoistical goals. Therefore our society, reaised on collective values and one of those suffering from colonialism, cannot fully make use fo the ideology of Western liberalism.
The all-national idea (the idea about national modernization) is the idea of government as a "collective soul of the nation" in which at the head of the ccorner is placed the right on a worthy life and the striving towards happiness for every member of the country, not depend on his beliefs, race, language and nationality. But in the republic in the absence of a strong all-national political forces there is a danger of sliding into national shovinism and ethnocratism. Therefore, as applied to Tajikistan the better course is the creation at the same time of a nationalistic and legal government, the organic combination of these two principles of government. The national legal idea proclaims the right of people of various nationalities of the republic on the independent economic, political and cultural development, which in its own turn enables the unification and the development of the whole society. This idea will not be orientated on some kind of ethnic group, it does not absolutize the division of people along ethic and especially confessional traits. The allnational, legal idea contains not only rational Western values, but also moral and ethical norms of the East. This idea will enable the realization in the republic of the theory of "government-private harmony", that is the agreement between government and its citizens.
This theory appeared in those Eastern countries, which were reared on collectivistic principles, after there immediate contact with the West. They stood before the dilemma on how to proceed further: if for the West government is a result of the "social contract" then for eastern government there is a more deeper meaning and appointment, based on the principles of family relations, the principles of "father - sons", inspired by either religion or traditions. If in the West in the social conscious rules the principle "life, liberty and private property" then in Eastern conscious "faith, submission and hope" creates an unseparable whole. If in the West only in the Middle Ages could a king say that he is the government, then in the east any ruler could say this in the 19th century and even in our age. If in the West, private property is sacred, untouchable, then in the East, private property does not have such an important meaning and generally depends upon official power. Of course, the self-realization of individuals and the attainment of material well being were distinguished in eastern governments, in dependence on standing traditions and customs of life. These seeming antagonism between the principles of West and East seemed impossible to reconcile (the famous saying of Kipling: the West is the West and the East is the East). The more wise and farseeing governments of the East, if they borrowed from the West, then they did so in a way to make what was borrowed serve what was native. Most importantly, they did not complete deny government property, and they did not give everything into private hands immediately. Instead the theory of "government - private harmony" began to successfully function. A bright example is Japan. In Japan, the official ideology declares that the Japanese came from the goddess of the Sun, Amaterasy. The Emperor's family is the direct descendents, and the rest are side branches of this deity. Here triumphed the Samurai spirit, the unquestionable service to one's master. When the country is united, the ruler is one - this is the government in the person of the ruling descendent of the goddess of the Sun. The government rewarded the worthy and punished the irresponsible. The government gradually established whole enterprises, firms, and companies and sent them into autonomous flow, but carefully observed after its development. In other words, a market economy began to function but only under the control of the government.
This authoritarian pluralism is also a part of other countries of the East. When any society, having lived thousands of years under a system where the government did not serve society but the other way around, whose government has as its head " a caring father" and which falls for a moment under the reality of western realities, such a society does not stand the "shock therapy" but chokes on the excess of "oxygen." G. Hegel is partly correct when he sees in the members of Eastern governments not slaves (as many political thinkers of the West, beginning with Herodotus and also Aristotle, with whom we cannot agree, as this estimation is ethnocentric and does not adequately estimate the realities and possibilities of the East), but only sons who are not of full age of the governments of the East with the help of the "caring father" or government, which successfully crowed the West, intercepting their world hegemony. Therefore, in all countries, where the synthesis of the individualism of the West with local collective spirit of the East occurs, government actively participates in all spheres of reform and transformation, often being placed as the heads of these beginnings. Branches of national economy where the fraction of government and the private sector comprises a reasonable balance (for example, various stock societies of the open type with an example of 20 -40 percent investment from the side of the government, these branches develop more or less well.)
This idea enables the development of national and government self-awareness through the method of transforming the ethnic group self-awareness. Overcoming ethnic group self-identification, awareness demands more than a single-sided orientation on one of the competing ideological political currents, which inescapably lead to the splitting of society. Instead it demands the consensus of these worldviews in the good of wholeness and stability of the young government with the utilization of values and the achievements of these civilizations. And also the synthesis is possible not on the soil of fragmentary political culture, but on the soil of pluralistic political culture of society.
Nationalistic government without the legal security for people of various nationalities and faiths quickly turns into an ethnocratic government, where old hostilities of territorial groups and clans for central power are reborn. This government is not able to secure the stability and the prosperity of society, but on the other hand, leads to the disintegration of the republic.
The Pan-Islamism of the irreconcilable opposition also will not lead to the ideological or political unification of the republic. As highlighted earlier, Tajikistan is a multi-confessional republic with the majority of the population, Tajiks and Uzbeks, confessing Sunni Islam, the Pamiris follow Ismailism, a sect of Shiism, and the Russian speaking population is in general Orthodox. Therefore under the proclamation of Islamic government sharply grows the exodus of Russian speaking part of the population, which is needed for the development of industry, regenerates the religious separation and historical offenses between Sunnis and Shiites of the country, which also could lead to a social cataclysm.
The nationalistic-legal idea, which must enable the overcoming of the national crisis, rallies for the priority of personality before all communities - classes, religious, races and ethnic for the achievement of the main goal, the creation of a democratic and legal government, with the help of those nations, which populate the republic: Tajiks, Uzbeks, Russians, Kyrgyz and others. The equal cooperation of Tajiks with other nations and their cultures do not infringe but only enrich the Tajik originality and culture. This cooperation encompasses also the borrowing of optimal models and achievements of modernization of the world community, which does not crowed out the traditional model of life, but organically flows together with it.
The industrial and technological sphere of society and not its ruling social cultural sphere stand out as the firing range for large-scale borrowing and transformation of culture.
Mankind easily accepts large-scale transformations and modernization of technology and engineering. Industrial modernization, directed toward the improvement of the quality of life of people, the improvement of conditions of labor, existence and the ecological situation, in its own turn enables the change of social-culture spheres of society, which is the most conservative and easily damaged sphere of society. This change occurs very slowly, and revolutionary jumps are alien to it and the banners of the time of "Down!" "You'll give!" This conservative sphere of society accumulates in itself the experience of all previous generations, the wisdom of national practice, and especially guards traditions. And traditions include within itself social regulations, norms of behavior, and customs- rituals and ideas-values of society, etc.
The social and cultural sphere of society fulfills three basic functions - translation, selection, and innovation. These equally-acting functions, working well together under the stable development of society, can in a transition period lose the harmony of work. One or the other functions, in dependence from how the situation unfolds, can predominate. The translation function means that under a stable development, culture transfers the experience of the previous culture, its values, demands, and ideals and norms of behavior to the newly adolescent generation. It may give up its main role to the other functions - selection, innovation or both at the same time, in dependence from the demands of the times. Our conditions include the construction of a genuinely independent national government in the absence of a determined experience and traditions of centralized government and government management. These conditions predetermines the low level of political culture and the unformed nature of the needed level of national and government self-consciousness. In these conditions, the selection - innovative functions become the most important.
When a nations develops under conditions of an absence of its own centralized government, but is a part of foreign, alien government formation or small, separated peripheral dukedoms, it does not possesses rich experience and traditions, that are so needed for the construction of a genuine, independent government. The need for such a government requires the estimation of its inherited values and the determination of their place and role in the construction of the young government. The insufficiency of one's traditions and the incompleteness of the new governmental structures actualize the renewal or the development of new norms and approaches or their borrowing from other nations and civilizations.
The search for one's own model of development and the taking of certain elements and components from other nations and civilizations is going on in Tajikistan in a most sharp competition between supporters of the various models of development of the republic.
The republic of Tajikistan, which against its will appeared after the fall of the USSR at the intersection of two civilizations, Islam and "Post-Soviet" (relative-secular), turned into a fight arena between these competing civilizations. The unconditional acceptance of either of these sides and their values will lead to the sharp escalation of resistance in the republic, to the militarization of the republic as a buffer between these civilizations.
Our long-suffering republic should not be turned into a constant arena of competition between these two civilizations, their values, but should creatively work with these civilizations. The achievement of the desired peace and cooperation demands, in its own turn, flexibility, tolerance and respect of opinions and positions of opponents of the leaders and supporters of both opposing political forces of the republic. The national crisis in the republic and the resistance essentially influences the process of the formation and the transformation of the political culture. They create a set of forerunners not only for the mastering of the existing political culture, but also for the establishment of a new political culture.
The new era in the development of political culture is connected with the building of an independent Tajik government, with the deep transformations of all spheres of society, especially political sphere. During this period the basic principles of political life and the general traits of national governmental self-consciousness, which determine the further perspectives of political and cultural orientations of the country are being formed. The appearance of the young government inescapably placed before it complicated tasks, whose solution would lead to the further development and perfection of the government and the liberalization of its institutes.
In the construction of ideals and models in accordance with which develops the new government, both new tendencies in world civilizations and traditions and the manner of life of previous generations must be considered.
Only the scientific and technical revolutions (especially the internet), which has caused the radical reconstruction of the system of mass communication, has led to overcoming of the isolation of the peoples within their own state borders. Man now can learn about what happens not only in his nation and in neighboring ones, but also in nations in the very farthest part of the globe. This will lead to such cultural consequences that we can not predict. Today some contours of world politics are being displayed: various civilizations have various views on the solution of pressing problems and conflicts.
There exist a class of "subjects" which purposefully participate in the formation and development of political culture, in accordance with certain goals and tasks, given before society.
Before Tajikistan stand the task of building a democratic, legal, and secular government.
One of the main "subjects" of forming of political culture is state. From the political history of peoples of Central Asia we know about the great influence of the state on genesis and translation of cultural values, including their political aspect. The state through its legislative, executive and judicial bodies contributes to development of political culture, but also persecutes and discriminates against the components, which contradict the leading dogmas and ideology.
Interference of the state in social, economical and spiritual spheres of the society remained considerable in Soviet times. The role of the state in forming of national political culture grows and dominates in transition period until formation of a stable type of political culture. It works out national political symbols: symbol, flag, hymn and other attributes of an independent state, forms models and samples of political way of conduct of citizens (ex. Celebration of Independence Day etc.) and specific traits of functioning of political institutes. Specifics of the political history of Tajikistan predetermine (when real people rule is absent) having an autocratic leader of charismatic type. Nowadays the nationwide leader who joined around himself not the representatives of specific regions or clans, but healthy forces of the whole republic, directing all forces not to dictatorship, but to achievement of consensus - became E. Sh. Rahmonov. He actively strives for consolidation of moderate and central groups to keep the wholeness of the republic. The state with the charismatic leader is more able to remove serious obstacles on the way to development of the society, than a democratic leader with his good intentions of transformation of the society.
Political stability in its turn serves as the basic condition for the ending of confrontations between regions and their consolidation for the exit of the country from the national crisis. It enables the electoral process: elections in various branches and levels of the power structure. Although elections by themselves cannot in one hour liquidate all negative phenomena of political life of society, but they will become an act of expression of the will of the people and the peoples attitude to political events. The nation in its hole always is always pulled to the center, and rejects extremely radical platforms and moods. Through elections the government grows such values of political value like competition instead of confrontation, the achievement of consensus, compromise instead of resistance, respect of the position of opponents, etc. The active participation of representatives of regions through general government elections, referendums, and surveys in the solution of national problems and task increase the level of awareness by members not only of its own region, but most importantly, of a large community, the national government.
Religion (Islam) is the second most important "subject" in the formation of political culture. Islam actively participates in all spheres of the life of society, sometimes even competing with government for the first place in the life of society. The importance of the role of religion and its competition with government from the beginning is connected with several factors:
First, the Tajik people lived in various Eastern government formations, where religious dogmas and prescriptions ruled instead of nation-governmental ideas and values.
Second, the re-establishment of religious traditions, customs, which are inseparable part of their rebirth of national traditions and rituals.
Third, Islam is not just religious teaching, but an conglomeration of the political and legal teachings, moral and ethical norms, art and cultural values, etc., which give their own answers and recipes for the solution of important problems of traditional (Islamic) society. Islam shows strong influence on the formation and the evolution of national culture and self-consciousness.
Government should not and is not in a position to completely ignore Islam and its worldview. It should use those components and sides, which do not go against its efforts. The most important thing to do in the conditions of our republic is to keep Islam from interfering in the political sphere, and to encourage its participation in the spiritual sphere, in the upbringing of the next generation. The "Cultural relay" of generations was destroyed largely in connection with the replacement of the Arabic alphabet on Latin and then to Russian and with the persecution of Islam. At that time, namely the representatives the spiritual world comprised the core of the educated, enlightened people of the country, who through old schools, madressas and other school organizations acquainted the next generation with the large scientific and literary inheritance of their ancestors. However in the process of enlightenment predominated spiritual theological sciences (the study of the Koran and the Hadith of Muhammad). They largely satisfied the demands of traditional society in the mastering and the inheritance of culture values. The careless attitude toward the traditions and cultural values of the past, the destruction of the basic mechanisms for translating the experience, norms, and manner of life of the previous generation, the formation of divisions within the natural scientific and technical intelligentsia based on the "import" of the foreign staff has led to a crisis of national renewal and the spiritual poverty of the people and the regionally disproportionate development and the alienation of regions from each other. The rehabilitation of Islam as a "storehouse" of traditional norms and models of behavior should not become uncontrollable, but should also be regulated by government at a needed rate and at a needed level.
The role of mass information and the press in the formation of national political culture and national and government self-consciousness grows with every day. At the current rate of growth, mass information exerts a broad influence on the political life of much of the population and enables the spiritual renewal of society. The press is not called the "fourth power" in vain. The building of an independent government, his tasks and problems created needed forerunners for the deepening of the study and the scientific consideration of political and historical processes, experiences and skills of the previous generation and other nations. A multitude of articles, books, and published presentations that analyze the solution of similar problems in the past or in practice of different nations and governments has appeared. The political problem occupies more and more place and time in the transition of television and radio, and in newspaper columns and journal pages not only at the Republic level and on the oblast and even on the regional level.
In the period in which formation of national political and national governmental self-awareness is being regenerated in the governmental (Tajik) language, ideas about the infringement of the people and its values in the past is conducted through propaganda and propagation. The meaning of national historical and culture development of the nation is highlighted, as well as the importance of the idea about the political sovereignty and independence of the Republic. The change of the governmental setup and it additional national components were accompanied by heated debates and discussions in the mass media. The entrance of the mass media, especially in television, radically changed its manner of life and behavior. Through them, important problems, which are recognized to ensure and make durable the sovereignty and independence of the republic, were discussed. The mass media not only commented on political events, which were taken place in the republic, but all actively participated in the prorogation and development of ideas and concepts, and became a big arena for expressing the will of the people. All these activities of the mass media, seized more and more masses, attracting them to discussion and the solution of nation-wide political projects and problems, formulating and training in them a feeling of responsibility for the republic and a feeling of patriotism.
However the mass media in the young republic is not exempt from defects and deficiencies. Despite these deficiencies, the mass media has a great meaning for the overcoming of regional peculiarities and their replacement by nation wide (government wide) values, while preserving those "rational grains" of the regions, which enable the strengthening of a unified political culture and national and governmental self-awareness.
These listed "three whales" which participate in the forming of political culture and democratic society, in the transformation of an ethnic local territorial self-awareness into a nation wide self-awareness, all carry a great burden in this process.
As shown in the recent history of Tajikistan the remaining "subjects" do not play an essential role in the process of political socialization. We shall consider several of them: for example the activity of various social organizations and parties. The absence in political life of the republic of traditions of free democratic elections on an alternative basis, the competition of candidates and the instability of political culture led to negative excesses, including the clash of supporters and opponents of various parties and social organizations. The defeat of the opposition block during the elections of 1991 of the presidential post did not lead as expected to a review of the strategies and tactics for the careful preparation for the next elections at various levels of power. It only increased the influence of the radical, irreconcilable wing of the party of the Islamic Rebirth of Tajikistan, which gave a tone of further action of opposition, ignoring the management of political fight with peaceful means, through elections. The support of opposition parties led in conclusion to the resistance of various regions, which visually showed the essence of these regional parties (by their nature), that they do not possess a consolidating basis for government-wide level. The antagonism and confrontation of various parties ruined the euphoria of the people, who considered that the competition of these parties and their models of development of society would serve as a guaranty of the democratic transition of the republic. Therefore, today not a single party or social movement in the republic has enough popularity to serve as a guide in the leading of the republic out of its deep crisis.
The post conflict peaceful development of sovereign Tajikistan enables the strengthening
of the attention of the government and social unification of political parties
for the further democratization of society and the liberalization of political institutes
of the government.
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