MONDAY,MARCH9,2020| THEGLOBEANDMAILO A
OPINION
O
n Feb. 29, in a rather un-
derstatedceremonyinQa-
tar, Zalmay Khalilzad, a
U.S. Special Representative, sat
nexttoMullahAbdulGhaniBara-
dar, a leader of the Taliban, and
signed an agreement to end the
conflict between the two parties.
Afghans, the Taliban and their
allies watched as the two repre-
sentatives, both of Afghan origin,
but starkly contrasting personal-
ities, inked the document finaliz-
ing the beginning of the end of
U.S.’s longest war, with the with-
drawal of foreign troops in the
coming months, amid loud
cheers from other Taliban mem-
bers in the room. Shortly after,
the Taliban’s official media chan-
nels declared their victory
through the agreement they
calledTerminationofOccupation
Agreement with the United
States.
For the war-weary Afghans,
this is an opportunity to find re-
lief from the violence that has
consistently plagued their coun-
try for the past four decades,
starting with the Soviet invasion
in 1979, followed by the civil war,
then the Taliban regime which
wastoppledbyU.S.forcesin2001,
igniting an insurgency that con-
tinuestoclaimthousandsofcivil-
ian casualties every year. Howev-
er, as Afghans joined in the cele-
brations, since any hope is better
than none, they remain cautious-
ly optimistic about whether this
deal will translate to actual tangi-
ble peace for the population.
Thishistoricdocumentthataf-
fects the future of the Afghans
deeply is missing one crucial ele-
ment: the voice of the Afghan
people themselves.
The agreement, which is
wrongly being referred to as a
peace deal, was created after
nearly 18 months of deliberations
between the two groups, with al-
most no representation and very
little consultation of the Afghangovernment. As such, many im-
portant issues that concern the
Afghans, especially women, mi-
norities and other marginalized
groups, have not been included.
Afghan civil society, activists
and individuals who have lived
through persecution by the Tali-
ban during its regime, have col-
lectively raised concerns during
the months of negotiations as
well as during and after the offi-
ciation of the deal.The deal does not impose any
obligations on the Taliban to pro-
tect the rights of women and mi-
norities, as well as the free media,
which they have repeatedly per-
secuted and targeted over the
years.
The deal also does not actually
require the Taliban to observe a
ceasefire, just that it should be
discussed during intra-Afghantalks. Considering the mounting
civilian casualties, more than
10,000 in 2019 according to the
United Nations, lack of ceasefire
does not inspire confidence be-
tween negotiating parties.
As a result, an emboldened Ta-
liban has continued targeting Af-
ghans this week; an attack near a
football stadium in Khost prov-
ince last Monday claimed three
civilian lives. Two days later, the
U.S. carried out a retaliatory air
strike against the Taliban. This
just days after the historic deal
had been signed.
In exchange for very little, the
dealpromisestheTaliban,among
other things: withdrawal of
forces, lifting of sanctions on Tali-
ban member and release of up to
5,000TalibanprisonersinAfghan
custody in exchange for 1,000 Af-
ghan soldiers. The latter promise
of prisoner exchange has already
been dismissed by the Afghan
government on grounds of “self-
willofthepeopleofAfghanistan.”
“The release of prisoners was
not in the authority of the U.S., it
is in the authority of the Afghan
government,” Afghan President
Ashraf Ghani said a day after the
signing.
Thedealdoes,however,setthe
stage for intra-Afghan talks,scheduled to begin on Tuesday,
which could provide an opportu-
nity to negotiate certain red lines
that have been put forth by Af-
ghan civilians concerning their
freedoms. However, not only
does the Taliban not recognize
theAfghangovernmentasalegit-
imate representative, it has con-
tinued to mount attacks on the
Afghan forces even after the deal.
The Taliban’s sense of self-de-
clared victory, coupled with the
U.S’s agreement to withdraw for-
eign troops, has weakened an al-
ready fragile negotiation.
However, as cracks already ap-
pear in what promises to be an
extremely sensitive and difficult
phase of peace negotiations, the
Taliban need to realize that its
“victory” is far from complete,
and is tenuous if it does not in-
clude the will of the Afghan peo-
ple.
The weight of actual peace in
Afghanistan rests on the intra-
Afghan talks that will address is-
sues that concern the Afghans di-
rectly.Hence,thesenseofcaution
thatexistsinKabul.Asoneyoung
Afghan remarked, “Perhaps this
is why they picked a rare day in
the leap year, so if things don’t
work out, there is no anniversary
to remember it by.”ThereisnoU.S.-Talibanpeacedealyet
Thedocumentto
finalizethewithdrawal
ofAmericantroopshas
beeninked,butpeace
isfarfromcertain
RUCHIKUMAR
OPINIONAnIndianjournalistbasedoutof
MumbaiandKabul TheTaliban’ssenseof
self-declaredvictory,
coupledwiththeU.S’s
agreementtowithdraw
foreigntroops,has
weakenedanalready
fragilenegotiation.L
ast Thursday, Elizabeth War-
ren made the announce-
ment that she was dropping
out of the U.S. Democratic pri-
mary race. In a perhaps predict-
able move from her campaign
playbook,thesenatorsaidsexism
may have played a role in her dis-
appointing primary perform-
ance, and thanked “every single
person who just moved a little in
theirnotionofwhatapresidentof
the United States should look
like.”
Really? That’s what she took
away from her loss? For those fol-
lowing the 2020 race, there were
myriad culprits that could have
contributed to her downfall –
among them, declaring that she
was of Native American ancestry;
announcing plans to appoint a
transgender nine-year-old to
approve the Secretary of Educa-
tion; and telling the Culinary
Workers Union in Las Vegas to
“call a woman” when you have a
mess that needs cleaning up.
This enthusiastic embracing of
thewokestofidentitypoliticswas
not the only thing that led to her
campaign’sdemise.Awidelyseen
videoofafatherinIowadisagree-
ingwithMs.Warren’sproposition
to cancel student loan debt spoke
to her difficulty in connecting
with voters.
Thesexismexplanationisapo-
tent source of comfort for those
who have bought into the idea
that society’s cards are inevitably
stacked against women, and
Americans’ inability to elect a
female president is rooted in a
deep-seated hatred for female
leaders. However, individuals
defending this perspective, espe-
cially in reference to Ms. Warren’s
decision, come across as mis-
guided.
Many reasonable Democrats
are not on board with extreme-
left policies, and the party has
gone so far left that even lifelong
supporters don’t recognize it anymore. But instead of turning the
ship around, almost every one of
the candidates, including Ms.
Warren, made the mistake of tak-
ingtwoadditionalstepstotheleft
in deciding to double down.
(Although Bernie Sanders has
shownimmensepopularity,com-
ing in a close second to Joe Biden
with 573 delegates currently,
many liberals no longer feel that
the party speaks for them.)
I don’t deny that misogyny
exists or that women experience
discrimination in ways that mendo not. Indeed, female and male
candidates face different chal-
lengesinthepubliceye,andanew
study in The Economic Journal
shows that likability (something
that Ms. Warren arguably strug-
gledwith)hasagreaterimpacton
women’s success than men’s. The
researchers found that for wom-
en,beinglikeablemattersinevery
interactiontheyhave,whereasfor
men, it only matters in interac-
tions with the opposite sex.
Asunfairasitmaybetohaveto
account for this, future femalecandidates might offset bias by
ensuring that other areas of their
campaign are infallible, avoiding
constant references to their sex,
and – regardless of one’s sex – re-
fraining from using rhetoric that
alienates men, who constitute
half of the population.
Ms. Warren became emotional
when talking about “all those lit-
tle girls who are going to have to
waitfourmoreyears”forafemale
president. As much as I feel for
her, blaming her loss on gender
politics does a disservice to her
young female fans. It breeds a
sense of helplessness and self-
righteous pity, instead of telling
the next generation to take re-
sponsibility and learn from their
failures.
Granted, politicians are proba-
bly not the best place to turn for
teachable moments about con-
ceding defeat. That’s where co-
lumnists and pundits are sup-
posedtocomein.Instead,weseea
continuation of this narrative,
paired with praise for other fe-
male candidates who have drop-
ped out and a complete omission
of the fact that Tulsi Gabbard is
still running. It lays bare the hy-
pocrisy surrounding any discus-
sion on gender equality; sympa-
thy about sexism and support
from the sisterhood only extend
to women who share one’s ideo-
logical mandate.
It isn’t empowering to scream
“sexism!” every time life doesn’t
go according to plan and, in the
end,itwillbecomeaself-fulfilling
prophecy.WhenDemocratshave,
for the past four years, been bea-
ten over the head with the belief
that a female politician can’t win
for this reason, they will act ac-
cordingly, and vote for a man to
contend against Donald Trump.BlamingsexismforWarren’slossisadisservicetowomen
DEBRASOH
OPINIONHoldsaPhDinsexualneuroscience
researchfromYorkUniversityand
writesaboutthescienceand
politicsofsex
U.S.SenatorElizabethWarrenspeakstothemediaoutsideherhomeinCambridge,Mass.,lastThursday.
STEVENSENNE/THEASSOCIATEDPRESST
he coronavirus and its eco-
nomic and public health
impact have dominated
headlines,andpreoccupiedusall.
Our focus, quite understandably,
hasbeenonthehealthofhuman-
ity and the health of the markets.
But there is another deadly sit-
uation that demands our atten-
tion. We refer to the humanitar-
ian catastrophe in Syria, whose
government has waged a brutal
war on its own citizens for almost
a decade, killing more than
400,000, mostly civilians. A mas-
sive movement of refugees has
resulted, burdening Turkey and
destabilizing Europe.
Syrian government forces, and
Russian airpower, had been bom-
barding the northwestern Syrian
province of Idlib in an effort to
eradicate the remaining rebels.
More death and displacement re-
sulted. Turkey, which already
houses 3.6 million Syrian refu-
gees, fears that more of them will
flee to its border. So it has sent its
forces into north-west Syria to
protectthepopulation.Afterase-
riesofexchanges,SyrianandRus-
sian attacks killed 36 Turkish sol-
diers. To complicate matters fur-
ther, there is now a growing hos-
tility between Turkey and Greece- both North Atlantic Treaty Or-
ganization (NATO) members –
arising from Turkey opening its
border with Greece.
Theseeventsaredeeplyworry-
ing. They create the possibility of
awiderwar,involvingforcesfrom
Turkey ranged against those of
not only Syria and Russia, but
Greece as well.
RussianPresidentVladimirPu-
tin and Turkish leader Recep Er-
dogan have now agreed on a cea-
sefire. But Syrian President Bash-
aral-Assadwasnotapartytothat
deal, and he seems still deter-
mined to finish the job in Idlib.
Furthermore, there is real doubt
about whether the ceasefire will
hold, since others have not. Mr.
Putin cannot be trusted and Mr.
Erdogan will always act in self-in-
terest.
There is now an urgent need
for concerted diplomatic and
political engagement. The stakes
are too high to permit inaction.
All responsiblegovernments
must do whatever they can to
bringaboutade-escalationofthis
dangerous situation and to ad-
dress the compelling humanitar-
ian needs. Canada must do its
part.
There are three things we
suggest Canada can and should
do right away.
First, as a member of NATO,
Canada should urge discussions
between Turkey and Greece. Can-
ada should actively explore any
and all ways to use this forum to
promote talks that can provide a
waytoratchetdowntensionsand
avoid a violent confrontation
betweentwoofNATO’smembers.
Second, Canada should help
provide humanitarian relief to
the civilians displaced by thefighting in Idlib. Hundreds of
thousandshavebeendrivenfrom
their homes since December into
makeshift internally displaced
persons (IDP) camps in the Syr-
iancountrysideduringthecoldof
winter. There were reports last
week of children freezing to
death, and camps being attacked
by the Syrian armed forces. We
cannot stand by and watch these
tragedies.Awaymustbefoundto
provide protection, sufficient
shelter and life-sustaining suppli-
es.
Third, Canada should take the
lead in initiating another round
of Syrian refugee resettlement.
We can surely accommodate
another 40,000 people. Concern
about thecoronavirusshould not
present an obstacle. The refugees
can be tested and, if need be,
quarantined as required to pro-
tect public health. We should also
get on the phone with other
members of the various clubs to
which Canada belongs, from the
Commonwealth to the Organiza-
tion of American States (OAS),
from the Organization for Securi-
ty and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE) to the Asia-Pacific Eco-nomic Cooperation (APEC), to
urge them to follow our lead and
share the responsibility for grant-
ing asylum to the desperate Syr-
ians. The European Union in par-
ticular must step up and accept
its share of Syrian refugees. The
Turkishgovernment has behaved
erratically, but it is justified in
complainingthatit is simply un-
able to accommodate an unlimit-
ednumberofrefugeesfromSyria.
The Turks should not be left to
carry that responsibility alone.
Canadian Minister of Immigra-
tion Marco Mendocino recently
met with German Chancellor An-
gela Merkel, who inquired admir-
ingly about the success of Cana-
da’s refugee integration. Their
discussions can open the way to
enlisting Germany as an EU part-
ner on collaborative refugee ini-
tiatives.
The coronavirus crisis is obvi-
ously of major concern. But that
does not give us licence to ignore
the calls on our conscience from
Syria. We can meet both the chal-
lengestoglobalpublichealthand
the urgent needs of the Syrian
population. Our shared humani-
ty requires us to do no less.Thecoronavirusdoesn’tgiveuslicencetoignorethecrisisinSyria
LLOYDAXWORTHY
ALLANROCK
OPINIONLloydAxworthyischairofthe
WorldRefugeeCouncilandaformer
CanadianForeignMinister.
AllanRockissenioradvisertothe
WorldRefugeeCouncilandaformer
CanadianAmbassadortotheUnited
Nations.
NEWS |