Excerpts from the official speech of President Karzai of Afghanistan to the European Parliament on Tuesday 10 May 2005.
"It gives me great confidence for the future of Afghanistan and our region to see the countries of Europe come together here in a spirit of unity and cooperation. It was not long ago that the Iron Curtain divided Europe into West and East. Yet, today, that curtain has been removed to reveal a mosaic, where each piece retains a distinct identity, but together form a greater entity…
The first presidential election in our history was held last October in which more than eight million people participated. The success of the election graphically illustrated the defeat of terrorism in Afghanistan. (Applause) In particular, the massive participation by the women of Afghanistan, 42% of the national turnout, demonstrated emphatically that a new era of social and political rights for women had arrived. (Applause)
Here, I would like to narrate a story to you that I witnessed about two and a half months ago. I was having lunch with a group of tribal elders from a very conservative part of Afghanistan, and I noticed that with these tribal elders and clergy there were women…I greeted the tribal chiefs by name…I said: 'Mr so-and-so welcome and how are you?'. When I had finished greeting the men, I said to the ladies: 'Welcome and good to see you'. Suddenly one of the ladies got up and said: 'Mr President, you greeted the men by name. You did not greet us by name'. I was shocked. I said: 'Well, madam, I am sorry I did not know your name'. She said: 'You know, you are elected because of our vote. Next time I see you, you had better know my name or you will not be elected!'. That is the change in Afghanistan for which we are very happy.
With help from Europe and others in the international community, we have trained a new police force of some 50,000, along with a special force to conduct counter-narcotics operations…Poppy cultivation and the drug economy are still afflicting our communities and remain obstacles to Afghanistan's stability…
Thirty years ago, when the former Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan, Afghanistan was a somewhat well-to-do agrarian society. In the years of conflict, drought and difficulties for the Afghan people, Afghan men and women - families, fathers, mothers, daughters - had no hope for the future…In that situation, people destroyed vineyards and replaced them with poppies; people destroyed pomegranate orchards and replaced them with poppies; people destroyed apricot orchards and replaced them with poppies, because poppies were easy to grow - there was not much need for irrigation - and easy to sell. Therefore, because of a lack of confidence in the future and a lack of means, society became involved in that easy crop. Last year, we began action against poppy cultivation, and the people responded because they have more hope for the future: they have more confidence in their country and in themselves.
Parliamentary elections in September will mark the culmination of the Bonn process in Afghanistan. The Afghan constitution decrees that at least 27% of members of the Afghan Parliament should be women.
From Europe, we need support and the assurance that Afghanistan will continue to receive assistance in a sustainable manner. In particular, as you deliberate here about the European Union's future international commitments, I hope you will see the need for multi-year pledges of aid to Afghanistan to support our efforts at rebuilding our country.
Allow me to take this opportunity to thank you once again, on behalf of the Afghan people, for the generous support that the European Union, as one of the largest donors to Afghanistan, has provided over the last three years. The people of Afghanistan are especially grateful to your sons and daughters in uniform who are serving courageously in our country. To those who have given their lives to provide us with security, we offer once again our gratitude, our prayers and our pledge that we will never forget."