(MENAFN- Daily Outlook Afghanistan) KABUL- French ambassador to Afghanistan David Martinon on Sunday said a dialogue hasstarted between Afghans for the first time and they believed reconciliation waspossible if based on the Constitution.
'Thisconstitution, dear friends, is your war bounty. It is your common treasure,the ambassador told participants of an event marking the French National Dayhere.
ChiefExecutive Officer Abdullah Abdullah, ministers, lawmakers and governmentofficials were present on the occasion.
TheFrench envoy said they also believed that there was indeed a growing Afghannation, one century after the independence of Afghanistan. 'Building a nationrequires time and passion.
In1919, King Amanullah was concerned that the independence of Afghanistan byitself would not be enough to create the Afghan nation, therefore he had threeintuitions that he decided would become public policies, recalled Martinon.
Firstconviction of the King
TheFrench envoy said to create a true Afghan nation, everyone in the country hasto feel that he or she is Afghan before being Tajik, Pashtun, Uzbek, Hazara,Turkmen or Sikh.
'Therefore,on the first taskeras that were issued, was only written the precious word 'Afghan,with no mention of any ethnic group. More than ever, your diversity should be your strength, not a cause fordivision."
Secondroyal conviction:
Hesaid to build an Afghan nation, the country needed education for everyone andwas why the king started a program to provide free education for children.
'Pleasedon't let anyone waste this precious legacy. Young girls will be watching.Because one day, they will have the power anyway."
Thirdroyal conviction:
Toform a national identity, the Afghan people needed to rediscover its ownhistory. Therefore, King Amanullah asked the French to start archeologicalsearches around the country, said the envoy.
Thenthe Afghans realized that their history was incredibly rich, starting from theera of Bouddhism, when Afghanistan was one of the key places for the diffusionof this philosophy, to Alexander the Great, who came here as a former studentof the great philosopher Aristoteles.
'Becausehe was eager to learn from other religions and philosophies to form his wisdom.So from the pre-islamic period till today, Afghanistan has always beencontributing to the richness of world culture.
Theambassador said 4000 French soldiers left Afghanistan in 2013 to be instantlyredeployed in Sahel in Africa, starting a very demanding counter-terrorismmission.
Sincethat date, 4000 French soldiers have been fighting against Daesh and Al Qaidain an operation covering five different countries, on a distance of more thanfour thousand kilometers.
'Iemphasize this to remind us that this war against terrorism is a global war. Weproudly take our part in it. But before we lost soldiers, we first lost membersof NGOs.
Aboutthe September president election, the French envoy said: 'Again, this electionis your war bounty. Don't let anyonedeprive you from that precious right so many people around the world would loveto enjoy.
DavidMartinon said On July 26 the election campaign will start and if the Afghansloved their country, they had to make these two months count.
'Makeit a moment of real politics, a moment of vivid debates, of free expression, ofrespect. Make it a moment of passion. Put the 18 candidates under your ownpersonal scrutiny. Ask questions, tough ones. Start debates about whatAfghanistan should do. About peace notably!(Pajhwok)
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