A few days ago, a number of notorious and fugitive figures from Afghanistan gathered in Vienna, the capital of Austria, to commemorate the second anniversary of the killing of opponents of the caretaker government. They held a theatrical event, trying to portray themselves once again as defenders of the people and heroes in the fight against tyranny, while their dark record during the republican regime is filled with treachery, corruption, incompetence, and dependence on foreigners.
Two years ago, on the 22nd of Hamal, key figures opposing the caretaker government, who had taken up arms and were fighting against it, including Qurban Ali Bamiyani, Burhanuddin Andarabi, Hussain Samangani, Saboor Faryabi, Fahim Salangi, Akmal Amir, and Basir Andarabi, were killed in an armed conflict in the Balkhab district of Sar-e Pol province; individuals who, in coordination with foreign powers, had incited rebellion and sought to hinder Afghanistan’s stability and progress through the creation of insecurity and corruption.
The truth is that the notorious defectors of the Republic not only wasted the blood of these naive individuals to serve their own interests, but now they also use their deaths to promote themselves in the virtual space and keep their discredited and tarnished names alive, trying to hide their dark past with repetitive slogans.
During the discussions, however, Mohammad Baqir Mohseni, one of the participants in this meeting, compared the struggle of Akmal Amir, the slain commander of the Freedom Front, and his companions to the movement and struggle of Che Guevara and Fidel Castro in Cuba; a comparison that leans more towards media propaganda than historical reality and is a clear attempt to mythologize figures who not only lacked popular support but also pursued specific political goals and foreign allegiance in the battlefield.
Without a doubt, comparing Akmal Amir’s struggle to Che Guevara’s activities is nothing but a distortion of history; a task that the figures of the fallen Republic regime were particularly skilled at. To understand this, it is enough to take a brief look at Che Guevara’s struggle to become fully aware of the differences between Akmal Amir’s struggle and Guevara’s.
Che Guevara, whose full name was Ernesto Che Guevara, was a famous Argentine revolutionary who played a significant role in the Cuban Revolution. He was born in 1928 in Argentina, and although he studied medical in his youth, he was soon drawn into political struggle.
In the 1950s, he met Fidel Castro and joined his guerrilla movement; Che Guevara was one of the main commanders of the revolution that overthrew the Batista dictatorship, which was supported by comprehensive political, military, and economic backing from the West, especially the United States, in Cuba.
After the overthrow of Batista’s dictatorial regime, Che Guevara left Cuba to lead revolutions in other countries, first going to Congo and then to Bolivia to start guerrilla warfare there as well. However, he was captured in Bolivia and executed in 1967 by the army of that country with the support of foreign organizations.
What becomes clear from the first lines of Che Guevara’s biography is the stark difference between Guevara’s struggle and Akmal Amir’s; Guevara was a fighter against the West, especially the United States and their interventions in Cuba’s internal affairs, while Akmal Amir took up arms against his own people under the shadow of American occupiers.
Che Guevara led the people’s revolution against the puppet regime supported by the West, but Akmal Amir and his comrades took up arms in support of the West and defended their puppet regime, going against the will of the people.
Comparing Akmal Amir and his comrades to Che Guevara is not only unrealistic but also a kind of deception of public opinion; because Che Guevara fought against a corrupt regime supported by the West, while Akmal Amir stood alongside a regime that ruled the people for years with direct support from the USA and NATO. Che Guevara fought for the liberation of nations from foreign domination, but Akmal Amir took up arms not for freedom, but to restore the same regime that plunged Afghanistan into crisis with corruption, discrimination, and dependency; a fundamental difference that renders any comparison between the two absurd and distorted.
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