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Parcham

Parcham (Pashto/Persian: پرچم‎, meaning "Banner" or "Flag") was one of two major factions that comprised of the former People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan(PDPA), which split in 1967. The faction found itself at the center of political turmoil in Afghanistan from the mid to late 20th Century, often times opposed to the other major faction of PDPA, Khalq. In this time period, political power in the hands of the Parcham party fluctuated in accordance with rapidly shifting political sentiments in Afghanistan. However, in extremely desperate times when both leftists parties faced persecution, Parcham hesitantly formed uneasy alliances with Khalq on several occasions. Parcham also played an important role in the establishment as well as the removal of several Afghan Regimes throughout its existence, such examples including: The 1973 Coup D'état, the Saur Revolution, as well as Operation Storm-333 and the subsequent Karmal and Najibullah Administrations.

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Background

Although the PDPA split in 1967, the origins of Parcham found itself in 1957, in the form of a Marxist organization headed by Babrak Karmal. After much pressure from The Soviet Union to unify, Karmal's group then merged with what would later become Khalq, (another Marxist group founded by Nur Muhammad Taraki and Hafizullah Amin) in 1965 to create the PDPA. The basic ideology of the Parchamites was one of a gradual move towards a milder implementation socialism in Afghanistan. The Parcham faction supported this idea because they felt that Afghanistan was not industrialized enough to undergo a true proletarian revolution as called for in the Communist Manifesto.

The Parchami ideology often appealed to the educated peoples of Afghanistan, most of whom resided in urban centers (in contrast to Khalq whose body was primarily made up of impoverished, rural residents). Parchamites were fairly moderate, as well as progressive in comparison to their Khalq (meaning "People") counterparts. There were no nationalistic sentiments that drove Parchamites to call for outright revolution- their strategy was to gradually move Afghanistan to socialism by maintaining good relations with and working with the existing government. The Khalq on the other hand, developed a more vigorous line, advocating an immediate and violent overthrow of the government and an establishment of a Soviet-style communist regime.

When the PDPA split in 1967, Karmal and Taraki named their groups "Parcham" and "Khalq", after their respective newspaper publications. The Khalq publication was quickly shutdown by the regime at the time, due to its somewhat Maoist revolutionary attitudes. The Parcham publication on the other hand, enjoyed a run until 1969, primarily due to its already watered down approaches towards the implementation of a socialist republic in Afghanistan. The approval to continue their publication in combination with their already willingness to work with existing government structures earned them much skepticism from other splinter groups that formerly made up the PDPA. Such groups such as Khalq as well as Sholay-E-Jaweid regularly accused Parcham of conspiring with the current governmental regime, and even went so far as to label Parcham as the "Royal Afghan Communist Party"

Post-PDPA Split

Parcham in the Coup D'état of 1973

Parchamites who were top ranking government and military members helped to plan and facilitate Mohammed Daoud Khan's coup of 1973. Daoud's planned coup (and the new government he soon established after) had also attracted support from Khalq, but Parcham made successful attempts to prevent the active participation of Khalq in the coup. The coup d'état in combination with Daoud's support transformed Parcham from a relatively powerless political party into a force to be reckoned with. They became omnipresent, with Parchamites holding high level governmental positions: cabinet ministers, junior officials, and even bodyguards of Daoud himself. With this newfound position of power, Parcham began mass recruitment efforts in Afghanistan's city centers, even employing the police to brutalize and harm their political opponents. These actions did not incur the favor of Daoud, as his name was being slandered due to Parcham's activities and his close association with them.

Soon after this, it became very clear that Parcham was nothing but a means to an end for Daoud, who took advantage of Parcham's military membership to orchestrate (what would eventually become known as) a bloodless coup. Daoud strayed further from the establishment of a communist agenda, much to the displeasure of Moscow (who had hoped that Daoud would become a puppet for Parcham to establish a communist stronghold in a heavily British influenced region). He began to systematically remove Parchamites who held the aforementioned cabinet positions, an action which Khalq attempted to exploit. Nur Mohammed Taraki wrote to Daoud attempting to persuade him to use "Honest Khalqs to replace corrupt Parchamites", an attempt which received no response from Daoud (which further accentuated his unwillingness to cooperate with any leftist agenda).

Potential for Reconciliation

In 1975, in the midst of this purge, both Parcham and Khalq began to hold talks to hopefully once again unify (it is assumed that this was under Soviet direction in response to Daoud's increasingly right leaning behavior). However, these talks came to an abrupt end after Parcham reportedly " published a self serving version of them, violating a prior agreement to keep negotiations confidential until their conclusion." Khalq responded by ending the ongoing negotiations.

Reunification of the PDPA

By 1977, Daoud successfully eliminated all leftists from his regime, and established the National Revolutionary Party, creating a one party system centered around it. In addition to this, Daoud's right leaning inclinations led him to establish a stronger connection with the rest of the Muslim world, eventually leading to him aligning himself with the Shah of Iran. By this point, both Parcham and Khalq were labeled as illegal leftists parties by the same man that both groups had hoped would bring about socialism in Afghanistan. Additionally, Daoud's complete reversal of his policies incurred the anger and denouncement of The Soviet Union, who now desperately needed Parcham and Khalq to reconcile and put Afghanistan back on a socialist path.

In the face of a common enemy, and Soviet pressure, Khalq and Parcham formed an uneasy alliance purely out of necessity. However, this did not mean that both parties ceased verbal attacks against one another. In fact, Parcham relied on foreign publications of The Communist Party of India as well as the Pakistani National Awami Party, to bolster their own image against Khalqs. Nevertheless, such an alliance was necessary for the second coup d'état in a decade: by 1978, Khalq had control over the Majority of the Afghan military, and Parcham still retained influence among remaining bureaucrats who managed to avoid Daoud's purges. This in addition to the combination of both of their civilian members was absolutely imperative for the revolution to succeed.

Parcham in the Saur Revolution

The assassination of Mir Akbar Khyber, a prominent Parcham politician and leader became the catalyst that the newly unified PDPA needed in order to commence their long awaited coup d'état. The newly combined civilian population of the PDPA organized mass protests in Kabul, suspecting Daoud as the one who orchestrated the assassination. Daoud responded by jailing Karmal and Taraki, and placing Hafizulla Amin under house arrest. However, this effort proved to be futile, as the remaining PDPA leaders met in secret in order to further advance plans of revolution (see Saur Revolution for tactical details).

Parcham under Khalq Rule

After over 20 years since its initial formation, the PDPA was finally in a position to implement socialism as they saw fit in Afghanistan. Taraki was named Prime minister, Karmal as senior deputy Prime Minister, and Hafizullah Amin as Foreign Minister. However this did not last long, as yet another Parchamite purge occurred in Afghanistan; this time, at the hands of the Khalq party. Karmal was re-named ambassador to Czechoslovakia and was transferred there, furthering Hafizullah Amin's position in the previously carefully constructed Khalq-Parcham hierarchy. As for the rest of the Parchamites in the government, the Khalq administration regularly accused prominent Parchami figures of plots to conspire against the government and had them executed. Some suggest that The Soviet Union supported the Khalq initiative to rid the government of Parchamites from the shadows. By the end of 1978, Parcham influence was heavily eliminated from the PDPA, with the Khalq party having consolidated power within the organization.

Parcham Rule

Karmal Administration

By the end of 1979, a feud between Taraki and Amin culminated in Taraki's assassination. This combined with other major Khalq failures in ruling the newly established Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (see Khalq as Government (April 1978 – December 1979 for more detailed information) prompted The Soviet Union to take matters into their own hands, and on Christmas Eve, 1974, The Soviet Union Invaded Afghanistan. Following Operation Storm-333, which resulted in the death of Hafizullah Amin, The Soviet Union appointed Barbak Karmal as Prime minister, due to his unwavering loyalty to the USSR. However, although the Soviets eliminated Hafizullah Amin and installed a Parchamite leader, the Khalq ideology and organization was still very much alive. Two Khalq government officials (appointed by the Soviets because of their assistance with the invasion), Sayed Mohammad Gulabzoy and Muhammad Arif Sarwari planned to systematically purge the most powerful Parchamite political figures. Although the plan eventually failed, it signified that Khalqs and Khalq ideology did not die alongside Amin. In fact, many Khalqs were so appalled by the Soviet invasion, that they defected to the Mujahedeen (see Afghanistan). Whilst the Khalqs did outnumber the Parchamites within the PDPA, the Parchamites mostly outranked them. The Soviets and Karmal attempted to portray an image of the impossible: a lasting unity between Parcham and Khalq. This was far from the truth, in reality the Parchamites were willing to use their power to purge any belligerent Khalqs. In fact, Karmal himself said "The USSR is supporting the Parchamis, and the Khalq supporters should know this. If any division takes up arms against the government, then it will be eliminated down to the last soldier by the Soviet army".This poorly stitched image of unity was orchestrated by the Soviets in an attempt to incite national unity behind an ill-received administration. Over the period of Karmal's rule, several more Khalq purges were orchestrated. For more additional information on all aspects of the Karmal administration, see Barbak Karmal (Presidency).

Afghan Resistance to Parcham rule

Although Barbak Karmal was now the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, the means of his appointment were not accepted by the majority of Afghans. Barbak himself thought that the Soviet backing of his administration would further his reputation amongst the Afghan people. It in fact ended up having the opposite effect, most Afghans by this point in time were opposed to Karmal because of the fact that the Soviet invaders were responsible for his rise to power.The Russian invasion itself had drawn so much ire from Afghan citizens, that it outweighed their hatred for Amin and his administration. A major component of this resistance was the fact that the Soviets had simply planted Karmal in this position, without any sort of formal inauguration or acknowledgement of Karmal's newfound authority by other Afghan political leaders. The state run media instead conjured varying accounts of Afghan citizens who supposedly wholeheartedly supported Karmal's rise to power in order to influence the rest of the population to view Karmal in a similar light (this attempt was not successful at drawing support from the public). Additionally, the sentiment of preserving Islam which influenced the formation of the Afghan Mujahedeen in the first place had now spread to the rest of the Afghan population.

Karmal's Response to Resistance

Recognizing that they were at an ideological crossroads with the Afghan population, Karmal and the Soviets shied away from the typical socialist values and reforms that the PDPA originally intended to implement. Instead, in order to fight the perception of his government as being illegitimate, Karmal (and by extension, the Soviets) attempted to take numerous courses of actions to win back public support. One course of action included an attempt to seem Pro-Islamic to appease the large majority of the population who felt that the Soviet invasion would bring about attacks on Islam. Karmal attempted to convey the image of putting Islam first. In a temporary constitution written by the PDPA (which Parcham controlled at this point in time), states that Afghanistan is an "independent, democratic state belonging to all Muslim working people of Afghanistan", and even goes on to say that the government will ensure the "respect, observance, and preservation of Islam as a scared religion".

Soviet Influence

Following Amin's death and Karmal's appointment, The Soviet Union was still controlling Afghan politics from behind the scenes. While the Soviet-Afghan relationship was advertised as a strong alliance between two "nations" to the Afghan public, their relationship was more indicative of an empire and its proxy state. Soviet advisors who held positions in military and civilian structures outnumbered the total membership of the PDPA at one time. Despite efforts to prop up the image of Karmal as Afghanistan's leader, it became apparent to the public that the Soviets were the ones in control. As the Soviets tightened their grip on Afghanistan, Karmal found himself increasingly becoming more of a figurehead than an actual Prime Minister. His power became so limited that it was eventually "confined to approving dismissals or appointments...under instructions from Soviet advisors".

International response

The obvious Soviet involvement in Afghan politics following the invasion was not lost on the rest of the world. The Organization of the Islamic Conference for example, suspended Afghanistan's membership, and refused to recognize Karmal's regime as legitimate, demanding a full-scale Soviet political and military withdrawal. In the United States, President Jimmy Carter also condemned the Soviet invasion, voicing this contempt to Brezhnev directly in a letter, as well his State of the Union Address that year. Carter then in turn threw his support behind Pakistan, declaring it a "front-line state in the global struggle against communism". Pakistan later became a launch point for the United States (as well as other Western countries) backed Mujahedeen (see Operation Cyclone for details).

Najibullah Administration

Replacement of Karmal

By the mid 1980s, the Soviets grew tired of their continued involvement in Afghanistan. What was supposed to be a temporary intervention to help support a "socialist" government became a necessary crutch, with Soviet involvement being the only factor preventing Afghanistan from descending into utter chaos. The general consensus in Moscow during this time was that Karmal was too weak to serve as the leader of Afghanistan. Without the Soviets, his regime would collapse. For example, in the face of a disapproving population and international condemnation, Soviet backing was the only factor which provided any degree of legitimacy to Parcham authority. Additionally, the Soviet Army was the only force keeping the Mujahedeen from outright overthrowing the Karmal regime. Moscow made Karmal the scapegoat for their failures in Afghanistan, with Mikhail Gorbachev being a prominent promoter of this sentiment, remarking that "The main reason that there has been no national consolidation so far is that Comrade Karmal is hoping to continue sitting in Kabul with our help...“If we don’t change approaches [to evacuate Afghanistan], we will be fighting there for another 20 or 30 years..”. In a last ditch effort to promote a self-reliant Afghan government, Moscow replaced Karmal with Mohammad Najibullah in 1986, a move spearheaded by Gorbachev. Najibullah was the former head of Afghanistan's secret police, KhAD. He eventually left that position to venture into politics, becoming the Secretary General of the PDPA in 1985. By 1986, following the introduction of Najibullah, the PDPA was fragmented into more factions than simply Khalq and Parcham. There were many factions who were loyal to specific leaders such as Karmal and Amin. Najibullah was particularly forced to reckon with the lasting influence of Karmal in the Afghan Central Committee and Politburo. See Mohammad Najibullah (leader) for more detailed information on his administration.

Soviet Withdrawal and the Rise of the Taliban

Even after the appointment of Najibullah, Moscow found that the progress towards a self-reliant Afghanistan was still stagnant from the time of Karmal's administration. Additionally, the continued persistence of the Mujahedeen combined with their new arsenal of American made Stinger Missiles, wore out the Soviet Army. The Soviet Union began their military withdrawal in the late 1980's, whilst still financially supporting the Najibullah regime (see Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan for further details). As Soviet forces withdrew from Afghanistan, the Mujahedeen closed in on major city centers, and eventually surrounded Kabul. By this point Najibullah was essentially powerless, as his allies and confidants recognized that his regime was coming to an end soon and left. In 1992, he attempted to flee to India but instead was forced to live inside an United Nations compound in Kabul. In 1996, the Taliban (formed by prominent Mujahedeen figures) extracted Najibullah from the compound and executed him by hanging him from a lampost.

Aftermath

Following Taliban rule, the remnants PDPA such Parcham, Khalq and other factions remained powerless in this new militant Afghanistan. The Watan Party was later created by exiled members of the PDPA as well as members of Najibullah's Democratic Watan party in 1997.