UNHCR OCM Afghanistan, P.O.Box 3232, Kabul, Afghanistan
Date: August 15th, 2003 Issue No. 39
RETURN Information Update
1 – 15 August 2003
Contents of the Current Issue 1. Security (1,2) 5. Messages to Women (5) 2. Repatriation (2-4) 6. Shelter (6) 3. Amayesh(4) 7. Afghanistan Political Parties (7-12) 4. Afghan Lawyers’ Prog (5) 8. Radio Programmes (12-13)
Security:
The security situation in Central Region remained calm and stable, but South, Southeast and Eastern parts of the country experienced attacks by the opposing forces of Taliban/AQ, explosions of mines and IEDs.
Areas of Concern: (Sar-I-Pul, Faryab, Pashtoon Kot, Samangan, Pul-I-Khumry), Almar): There are concerns about the personal security of civilians in some parts of the north. Factionalism and armed clashes have resulted in injuries to civilians, including women and children in Sar-I-Pul, Kohistanat district. The presence of unruly commanders in Faryab remains an obstacle to return and causes further displacement. There are reports of harassment, illegal taxation, extortion, looting, forced recruitment of young men and kidnapping. Human rights abuses are not specifically directed at a particular ethnic group and affects all civilians. The Return Commission Working Group, UNAMA, MoRR and UNHCR have been trying to intervene through discussions with local authorities and relevant commanders in order to ease the security situation. It’s expected that the recent deployment of the British PRT (Provincial Reconstruction Team) in Mazar would contribute to the improvement of the situation.
Bamyan: There are reports of continued human rights abuses in southern districts of Daikundi and Sharisdan.
Road Safety: Road robberies are a major security problem for returnees from both Pakistan and Iran. Returnees should exercise particular caution when travelling on the following roads:
- The road from Kunduz city to Shirkhan border. 2
- Route from Hirat to Farah and Kandahar (Shindand to Dilaram) - Roads in the districts of Farsi, Gulistan and Ghormach (route to Bala Morghab) - Main road from Nili to Tirinkut, Uruzgan - Road between Ghazni centre and Malistan district and on connecting road between Malistan and Nawur. - The road from Ghazni to Kabul, especially in Saalar area of Said Abad district of Maidan/Wardak province. - Main road between Qalat and Ghazni. - The road linking Qalat to Lashkargah, Helmand Province.
The Afghan and Coalition forces have established joint check-posts on the main Kandahar- Spin Boldak road to inspect all traffic for security purposes.
Note: All returnees are advised NOT to travel during the night hours, and should seek shelter in one of the major settlements.
UNHCR Voluntary Repatriation –2003
Returnees have the free choice of either returning to their village (location of origin) or to any other place in Afghanistan – but not to the IDP camps.
Iris Validation Centres: All refugees returning from Pakistan to Afghanistan with UNHCR assistance will have to go through an iris machine, a computer-based technology that examines the eye and can detect if someone has been tested before. The machine does not take the picture of the eye, but registers a number that’s similar to fingerprint. Iris Recognition Centres are located at Hayatabad in Peshawar, Alizai in Kurram Agency, Balochistan (in Chaman for refugees returning from camps and Karachi, and in Baleli for those returning from urban areas in the province), and in Khost in Afghanistan.
Returnees who want to receive the UNHCR assistance package have to go through the Iris screening, otherwise they will not receive their entitlements. Returnees are advised to have their VRFs with them while travelling in the host country and Afghanistan. Anyone who is discovered to have received assistance before will not receive assistance.
Single returnees will have to join other single returnees or families to make a minimum distribution unit.
Note: The entire family will be checked against the VRFs at the encashement centre.
Returnees should not approach just any Distribution Centre, but only the one marked on their VRFs, otherwise they will not receive assistance.
Transport Assistance: Returnees will receive cash assistance at the following encashment centres in Afghanistan located in Pul-I-Charkhi, Ghazni, Mohmand Dara, Zaranj, Daman,
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Mazar-I-Sharif, Pul-I-Khumri, Kunduz, Herat, Gardez and Khost. The DC’s in Mazar and Kunduz are assisting only the returnees from the Central Asian republics – those returning to northern provinces (Kunduz, Takhar, Badakhshan, Samangan, Balkh, Jawzjan, etc) should receive their entitlements at the first EC or in Pul-I-Khumri.
Note: Please be advised that the working hours at Pul-I-Charkhi encashment centre is from 0800 in the morning to 1400 in the afternoon. The returnees arriving after 1400 hrs. will not receive their entitlement on that day, and the next day only the head of the household should go to the centre to receive the assistance (cash, food and non-food items).
Note: Pul-e-Charkhi encashment centre is closed on Saturdays.
Properly filled, signed and stamped VRFs will be valid for seven days for returnees from both Iran and Pakistan; for the returnees from Pakistan, from the day they leave the Iris Scan Centre, and for returnees from Iran, from the day they leave the registration centre, and arrive at the encashment centre inside Afghanistan.
Depending on final destination in Afghanistan, each family member will receive between 3-30 dollars, and is limited to 7 persons per family. Children under12 months of age (less than one year) will receive only half of the amount given to other members of the family. Returnees from Karachi and Lahore will receive an additional 5 dollars per person at the first encashment centre.
Returnees from camps in Pakistan will receive 5 dollars per family in addition to the established amount if they transport construction material only from their dismantled houses. The transportation of construction material will be certified by a special note made on the VRF at the Registration point in Pakistan
Note: The Returnees' personal belongings are exempt from all customs duties. But please note that returnees neither can take commercial amounts of any item nor can they export the governments proscribed items. Returnees should also advise their truck drivers not to carry business goods on returnee trucks in order to avoid delay at the border and undesired consequences at the customs.
Working Days: The UNHCR-assisted repatriation operation in Pakistan will run from Sunday to Thursday. There will be no UNHCR-assisted repatriation on Friday and Saturday. In Iran, the operation will run from Saturday to Thursday. There will be no operation on Friday.
Note: All refugee students must have their school certificates stamped by Afghan embassies/consulates before returning to Afghanistan. According to a directive issued by the Afghanistan Foreign Ministry its missions in the region they should NOT charge validation/stamping fees on academic certificates of repatriating Afghan students. Those graduates who want to work as teachers in Afghanistan should also have their documents stamped by Afghan embassies/consulates.
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Non-Neighboring Countries: Under its Assisted Voluntary Return Programme (AVR), IOM assists Afghan returnees from Europe, Asia, Africa, South America and Australia with their return, their reception and reintegration in Afghanistan.
This includes the supervision of transit assistance in Dubai, reception at Kabul airport (border and customs processing assistance, mine awareness information, basic medical assessment, and preliminary information): personal baggage/cargo storage and collection arrangements, overnight accommodation and onward internal transportation provisions.
IOM's Information Counseling and Referral Services Programme (ICRS) provides returnees with information and with referrals relevant to their individual reintegration needs such as employment opportunities, vocational & management training, educational opportunities, micro, small enterprise start-up, on the job training, possibilities for returnees' inclusion in ongoing community based humanitarian and reconstruction programmes and other relevant programmes in Afghanistan.
The Jangalak Training Center (JTC) has been rehabilitated to provide accommodation after the arrival in Kabul and as a center for vocational training. The vocational training includes training in carpentry, masonry, electrical works & wiring, plumbing, welding, and other essential occupations such as languages and computer skills.
Note: For further information about IOM programmes, please contact IOM Kabul ([email protected]) or visit the IOM website www.iom.int to find out whether a return programme operates in your country of asylum.
Information on the AMAYESH Process - Iran: The purpose of the Amayesh process, which is currently underway throughout Iran, is to issue new ID-cards to all those Afghans who were registered in the 2001 registration exercise and at the time were issued with temporary registration slips. Undocumented or Afghans who were not registered in 2001 are not eligible to get the new cards.
The Amayesh process is taking place over a 3 months period from June 21 to September 22, 2003. The fee for registration of each person (over 2 years old) is 50,500 Rls (app 6 USD).
The new Amayesh documents are entitled: Exit Travel Permit. However, such documents are not valid for travelling back to Afghanistan and returnees should surrender their Exit Travel Permits and receive exit LPs issued for a specific border exit point.
The validity of the Exit Travel Permit is for 3 months for singles (male and female) and 4-6 months for married Afghans depending on their area of residence. The Permits may be renewed but the details of the renewal process are yet to be announced.
All government services such as education, health care, assisted repatriation, travel, etc., would be possible only if the person is holding an Amayesh card.
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Italy Supports Return Programme for Afghan Lawyers: IOM's programme to encourage Afghan legal professionals to return home to participate in the rebuilding of Afghanistan's legal system has received a Euro 300,000 boost from the Italian government. The Italian-funded legal programme is part of IOM's wider Return of Qualified Afghans (RQA) initiative, which has already helped some 484 Afghan professionals to return home to participate in the rebuilding of their country's shattered infrastructure. The legal programme, which focuses on rebuilding the judiciary, has already helped 20 Afghan lawyers to return from Australia, Austria, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, United Kingdom and the USA to jobs in the Ministry of Justice, the President's Office, the Chief Prosecutor's Office, the Supreme Court and other ministries. Another 13 will to take up posts shortly. The RQA database matches the skills of Afghan Diaspora professional candidates with job vacancies in Afghanistan. The programme provides return travel and helps to reintegrate candidates by providing installation grants, special incentives for female candidates, and monthly salary supplements. The Closure of Faryab IDP Camp: The Acha camp for internally displaced people in the north-western province of Faryab has closed after the last 449 families living there returned to their homes in the northern Astana valley also in Faryab. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) assisted the people with their return home on 26 & 27 July. The camp was established spontaneously in April 2001 when hundreds of families fled the valley to escape the drought. The camp’s last 1,720 people asked for help to return home in a joint registration exercise carried out by the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MORR), UNHCR and IOM. The people traveled home on IOM trucks and each family received a reintegration package of food supplies from WFP and Medicins Sans Frontieres, a pressure cooker, soap and jerry cans from IOM, and plastic sheets and sanitary cloth from UNHCR. The longer-term needs of the returnees to the northern Astana valley, including access to water, is being assessed by IOM, UNHCR and the Italian non-governmental organisation called, “InterSOS”.
Messages to Women: 1. The Ministry of Public Health has urgent need of women health professionals in all provinces of the country. Women with interest in professional training as nurses, midwives and community health workers are advised to register their interest with Departments of Public Health or of Women’s Affairs at provincial level, so that they can be contacted when opportunities arise. 2. Tetanus (TT) vaccination campaign for women between 15 – 45 years of age is ongoing inside Afghanistan. All women returnees who have been vaccinated against TT are advised to keep the records - before they return. 3. Refugee Women are advised to seek professional training in safe delivery, early infant care, nutrition, and hygiene, ‘first aid’, emergency medical care, or as a midwife/auxiliary nurse.
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4. They are advised to bring educational certificates, including courses they have taken. 5. Single women should link with a family for the journey and identify themselves immediately on arrival.
Literacy and English Llanguage Classes for Women in the South-east: Up to 160 illiterate women living in four villages in Paktya province will be attending literacy classes in the next three months, a prejct being funded by UNAMA.
The non-governmental organisation, the Gardez Women’s Association, is launching four literacy programmes for adult women living in four villages near Gardez: Kouchi Khail, Kermashi, Ballah Deh and Khetaba. The classes will be open to every illiterate adult women village resident.
As part of the same initiative funded under the Quick Impact Projects (QIP) two English language classes have been launched for professional women in Gardez. The courses will be held daily at two locations in the city – the Civil Hospital and the Girls Lycee. Around 60 women, mostly doctors and teachers, are expected to enrol for the language classes.
The QIP fund has a budget of half a million dollars and has been used since last to fund short- term activities in health, education, public infrastructure and social services, that promote and facilitate United Nations peace-building efforts in Afghanistan.
Shelter: To help returnees in their initial phase of reintegration, the UNHCR is providing shelter for 60,000 families in 2003. The shelter project is NOT for every returnee family but only for the most vulnerable, who have been identified from returning IDPs and refugees, as well as the returnee receiving communities. The beneficiaries are selected with the help of local Shuras, local authorities and UNHCR partners. They have to build the shelter on their own land or property, in their places of origin. Shelter (a standard two-room, one corridor and one latrine unit) programme is self-help assistance, and while building material (timbers, lintels, doors, windows and tool kits) is provided by UNHCR, the beneficiaries are responsible for the construction work. The recipients are also entitled to a sum of money or food for work for standard and domed type shelters.
Important Message: Refugees prior to their voluntary return should note that: 1. Shelter programme is only for the most vulnerable. 2. UNHCR shelter programme is not for every returnee family 3. The conditions for benefiting from the shelter project are; for the returnees to be in their village of origin, be identified through the help of local shuras and UNHCR partners, and to build the shelter on their own land or property.
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Afghanistan Political Parties
The first two major parties named Weekh Zalmyan (Kandahar) and Watan (Kabul) were founded during the reign of Shah Mahmood Khan between 1330-1340 (1951-1961). More parties emerged after 1964.
Afghanistan has no laws regulating political parties. Article 32 of the 1964 Constitution gives Afghan citizens the right to form parties, but the Political Parties Law was never signed by the King. While this lack of laws means that political parties have no legal status and their activities have no legal basis, some of them are recognised as political parties.
The law governing the registration and activities of the political parties is currently being drafted, and is to be approved and published in the near future. Due to the absence of such laws, it’s not known how many political parties or associations currently exist, and what kind of manifests they might present for the elections, due to be held next year.
Parties established inside and outside the country since 1960s are :
1. Hizb-e-Islami-Gulbuddin, led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, 2. Hizb-e-Islami-Khalis: leader; Yunis Khalis, 3. Harakat-e-Inqilab-I-Islami, Leader: One of the sons of Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi, former leader of this party, 4. Harakat-e-Islami, leader: Mohammed Asif Mohseni, 5. Hizb-e-Wahdat-Khalili faction, leader: Abdul Karim Khalili, 6. Hizb-e-Wahdat-Akbari faction, leader: Mohammad Akbar Akbari 7. Ittihad-e-Islami Mujahedin Afghanistan, led by Abdul Rasul Sayyaf 8. Jabha-e-Najat-e-Milli Afghanistan, leader: Sibghatullah Mojadedi 9. Jamiat-e-Islami, leader: Burhanuddin Rabbani 10. Jumbesh-e-Milli Islami, leader: Abdul Rashid Dostum 11. Mahaz-e-Milli-Islami, leader: Sayed Ahamad Gailani 12. Taliban Movement, leader: Mullah Mohammad Omar 13. Afghan Milat, leader: Anwarul Haq Ahadi 14. Democratic Watan Party 15. RAWA, Revolutionery Association of the Women of Afghanistan
Some of the above parties that were formed during the Soviet occupation controlled parts of the country and developed party structure. Some of them have presence in various provinces of Afghanistan. Others are active in a certain region, are mainly ethnic-based and have dominance in that particular area. There are little ideological differences between these parties and most of them want an Islamic state.
Some factions of these parties have re-organised and changed their names; Hizb-i-Dawate Islami (former Ittihad-i-Islami), and Nahzat-e-Islami (formed by a number of leaders of former Shuray- e-Nizar). There are also a number of newly-established parties, which group small parties in their
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structure; National Democracy Front, which includes at least 30 parties, the Afghan Intellectuals’ Front with about 17 parties, the Flame of Democracy 4-5 parties, and National Unity 6-7 parties.
On 9th of August 2003, the supporters of former king Mohammad Zahir Shah formed a new political movement, calling for return to constitutional monarchy in Afghanistan. About 2,000 people gathered in Kabul on that day to launch the National Unity Movement, led by Zahir Shah`s cousin, Sultan Mahmud Ghazi.
There are also some Leftist parties but they are not openly active because of the prevalent position of Jihadi parties in the country.
Northern Region: Parties with military background (Jihadi Tanzims) that became main political parties in the region after the establishment of the Transitional Government in Afghanistan are:
1. Junbish-e-Milli Islami 2. Jamiat-e-Islami 3. Vahdat-e-Islami (Khalili faction) 4. Harakt-e-Islami 5. Vahdat-e-Islami (Akbari faction)
Junbish-e-Milli Islami Afghanistan (JMIA): The party was founded in 1991 under the leadership of Abdul Rashid Dostum with its headquarter in Mazar City. Junbish has representatives in the government, and has its sub-offices in other parts of the country like Kabul, Ghazni and Logar.
Jamiat-e-Islami Afghanistan (JIA): JIA was established in1964, and is led in the region by Ustad Atta Mohammad, who is currently the commander of the 7th military Division. It has presence in the entire region except Jawzjan. Its members belong to various ethnic and religious groups.
Wahdat-e-Islami Afghanistan (Khalili group), (WIA): WIA party is composed of almost eight Hazara groups (mostly Shi’a people) that were functioning by the name of Wahdat in 1990. The party has presence in Sar-i-Pul, Samangan (Dara-i-Souf district), Balkhab, Sholgara, Chemtal, Chahar Kent and Dawlat Abad districts of the Balkh province.
Other Parties: There are other parties such as Hezb-e-Islami (Hekmatyar), Harakat-e-Enqilabe Islami and Mahaz-e-Milli, but they are not very influential in the region.
Southern Region: There are a number of political parties and civil societies in southern provinces. Although these groups are not officially registered, they’re allowed to conduct their activities openly.
The following are some of the Parties/Societies that are currently active in this region:
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Afghan Millat (Afghan Nation): This Party was established in 1964 and issued a weekly newspaper “Afghan Milat”. The party is unwilling to disclose the size of their membership at this point. The party favours a republic with parliamentary system.
The Afghan Milat supports the present government on many issues, and has good relations with the local authorities in southern provinces. The Party says it has members in all the provinces of the south, but has offices only in Kandahar and Helmand provinces.
Bi-weekly newspaper ((Afghan Milat)) is presently issued in Kabul, 1000 copies of which go to the southern provinces. The publication is distributed to the members and is also sold to the public. Some of Afghan Milat Party members are presently occupying high level positions in the Kandahar local government.
Afghan Youth Civil Society: This organisation was established in 2002 and its central office is in Kandahar. It has sub offices in Khost and in Helmand. This Society has a total of 2735 members (including 500 women) in the southern provinces and in Khost, Herat, Kabul and Nangrahar. It is officially registered with the Ministry of Justice.
The main goals of Society are as follows: - Full support for the Loya Jirga and a democratic government committed to national and cultural values. - Ensuring the active participation of young people in the rehabilitation of Afghanistan. - Respect for human rights. - Elimination of the ethnic, tribal, regional and linguistic divides, and working for unity. - Ensuring provisions of free education and promoting girls’ education.
Although a civil organisation at present, it aims to become a political party. The organisation is funded through membership and by some Afghan traders.
National Islamic Society of Afghan Youth: This Society was established abroad in 2000 by Afghan refugees and started its activities in Afghanistan in 2002. The central office of the Society is in Kandahar and is planing to open sub offices in southern as well as western provinces. This Society has a total of 2800 members in Kandahar, Heilmand, Uruzgan, Jalalabad and in Kabul, including 800 women (350 in Kandahar and 450 in Kabul). Although it is a political organisation it is registered with the Ministry of Justice as a civil society.
Main goals: - Parliamentary system under the Monarchy. - The wellbeing of the youth through education, sports and other social activities. - Special health care and recreational activities for women.
The National Islamic Assembly of Tribes of Afghanistan: The group was established abroad in 1993 by the Afghan intelligentsia and has around 100,000 members (the majority of them are in Afghanistan and the rest in Iran, Pakistan, Europe and America). 45,000 of them are in the southern provinces, including 15,000 women (educated and uneducated). It is a civil organisation and is officially recognised by the Ministry of Justice. The organisation has membership of 9 10
elders and the educated of different tribes and the Hindu minority. For the time being the organisation has no intention of becoming a political entity, but may consider the possibility during the Loya Jirga, which is to be held in October in Kabul.
The organisation has offices in Kabul, Kandahar, Kunduz and Bamyan, and is funded by the German organisation (HANS). It has a section for human rights, mainly targeting women’s’ rights.
Afghan National Solidarity Movement: This movement was recently established in Kabul, and has about 6,000 members in southern provinces. It supports the return of Monarchy and a parliamentary system. According to a member of its central office, the organisation is funded by a number of Afghans sympathisers.
There are also a number of civil/literary societies, including De Afghani Mirano Mili Tulana, Haiwad Society, Binawa Society and Ahmad Sha Baba educational Society, with some of them having the aspiration of becoming political parties.
South-eastern Region: Paktia Province: In Wase Zadran and Showak Zadran, the Hezb-e-Islami is led by Jalaluddin Haqqani, in Zormat District the party of Harakat-e-Islami of Nasrullah Mansoor is under the leadership of Saif-ur-Rahman.
The ideology: All groups in the province want a stable political and security environment with a strong central government.
It is said that Ittehad-e-Islami of professor Sayyaf, the Islamic parties of Jalaludin Haqqani and Engineer Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and Talibaban are active, but the Jamiat Islami Party of Mr. Rabbani is more openly active in the region.
Khost Province: The following groups are active in this province: -M. Sediq Rouhi’s Adabi Association, led by Mir wali Jan Taniwal -Cher Band Adabi Association of Teacher Seraj. -Istiqlal Adabi Association, led by Mr. Jamal. -Aazad Adabi Karwan, led by Bismillah Arman. -Afghan Alemi Association, led by A. Karim Patang. -Another party by the name of Sole Ghorzang of Shahnawaz Tanai, former defence minister has presence in Khost.
Paktika Province: It’s said that Harakat-e-Islami of Nasrullah Mansoor, Gulbuddin Hekmatyar’s Islamic Party and the Taliban are active in this province.
Ghazni Province: The Islamic party of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Ittehad-e-Islami of Mr Sayaf, some Hazara parties (Mohseni, Karimi, Khalili and Akbari groups) and the Taliban are active in the province.
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Eastern Region: There are around eight (8) political parties actively working in the region:
-Afghan Wolas Democratic Party. (AWDP) -Consultative Council (This is part of Abul Haq Foundation) -Afghan Wolas Social Party. (AWSP) -Afghan Peace Seeker Women Association (APWA) -Afghanistan Youths Center (AYC) -Nehzat Mili (NM) -Youths Rights Defense Council -Afghan Milat Party
All the parties have offices in Jalalabad, provincial capital of Nangarhar Province.
Consultative Council: Active in rehabilitation, education and setting up shuras in districts and villages, the party is said to be the most powerful in eastern region. The leader is Haji Baryali brother of late Haji Abdul Qadeer (Ex Governor of Nangarhar) and of Haji Din Mohd (Governor of Nangarhar). The party has about 1,500 active members.
Afghan Peace Seeker Women Association: Humira Rafi is the Director of this Association, Humira is one of the Wakil Guzars (elected persons to Loya Jirga) from Rodat district, and the association is involved in education and vocational training, and works mainly on women’s issues.
None of the parties have made any decision about their participation in the elections. Parties and groups are waiting for the law on political parties and elections in order to proceed with formal registration and deciding their programmes.
Western Region: In western provinces, there are no newly-established parties, but former Jihadi groups such as Jamiat-e-Islami, Hizb-e-Wahdat Khalili Party, Mahaz-e-Milli Islami, and a number of powerful figures dominate the political scene in the region.
Jamiat-e-Islami Party: The most powerful figure in the governing structure is the former Jihadi regional commander, Ismail Khan, who’s currently the governor of Herat. Ismail Khan’s followers are mainly Tajik, as well as some other ethnic groups, and believe in Islamic principles.
A body, called National Islamic Solidarity Shura of Afghan People, has been set up within the Jamiat in Herat province which functions as a consultative and social institution. Jamiat is also active in the Ghor Province as part of provincial government.
Hizb-e-Wahdat Islami Afghanistan: After the Jamiat Islami the second largest political party in Herat is Hizb-e-Wahdat, a branch of the Khalili faction, with mainly Hazara people. Although the party has limited involvement in the overall running of the province, it is active in military and political fields. 11 12
Hizb-e-Wahdat has a regional office in Herat, and 3 sub-offices in other provinces of the Western Region.
The two parties, Jamiat and Wahdat, are working as part of the government, and while having a few ideological differences both believe in the establishment of an Islamic state.
Mahaz-e-Milli Party: In Farah Province the party controls governing institutions as well as political, social and cultural affairs, and the governor is a member of this party.
Herat Professional Association HPA: This Shurra was founded recently after the fall of the Taliban, and is an independent and non-governmental institution. HPA is an umbrella organisation for Herat professional groups such as Doctors’ Association, Journalists’ Association, Lawyers’ Association, Engineers’ Association, Teachers’ Association, Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Association, Athletes’ Association, Islamic Sciences Association and Painters & calligraphers’ Association. The Association calls itself a civil institution, and is involved in political issueswithout being officially a political grouping.
Other political parties in Herat: There are reports of existence of small political parties. They don’t have open or visible political activities, and are said to be the loyalists of former Khalq and Parcham factions, two main branches of the Communist Party of Afghanistan.
UNHCR/BBC Radio Programme: There is a joint BBC/UNHCR radio programme specifically aimed at Afghan refugees, IDPs and returnees. The programme deals with the situation in Afghanistan, including security, development activities of the Afghan government, United Nations and other aid agencies, and the difficulties that the Afghans, especially returnees, are facing. The BBC radio programme is part of UNHCR’s efforts to provide an accurate account of the situation in Afghanistan to those wishing to return home, and to offer a forum for a wider debate on all aspects of repatriation and reintegration.
The programme is broadcast from Saturday to Wednesday (5 Days a week): • 1st edition: 0730 to 800 GMT = 1100 to 1130 Iran time, 1200 to 1230 Afghan time, and 1230 to 1300 Pakistan time.
• 2nd edition: 12.00 to 1230 GMT = 1530 to 1600 Iran time, 1630 to 1700 Afghan time and 1700 to 1730 Pakistan time.
The programmes are broadcast on Short wave frequencies of 15420 kHz (19-meter band, and 17870 kHz (16-meter band).
The programme has a section for the listeners’ letters. If you have any comments or questions please write to the following addresses. The BBC will include them in the programme:
• Afghanistan: BBC, Post Box No. 1, Central Post Office, Kabul, Afghanistan.
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• Pakistan: BBC, Post Box 255, University Town, Peshawar, Pakistan. • Iran: UNHCR (BBC) – P.O.Box No. 91775 – 1876, Mashhad, Iran.
UNHCR/ARTV Radio Programme: UNHCR has also a joint radio programme with Afghanistan Radio and TV, “Coming Home”, as part of its mass Information efforts. The programme is broadcast on Sundays and Fridays (2 days a week) at 9:00pm for 30 minutes in Dari and Pashto languages.
For More Information Contact Solmaz Dabiri on (0093) 070276000, E-mail: [email protected]
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