Afghan MP wants foreign troops out

"When the entire nation is living under the shadow of the gun and warlordism, how can its women enjoy very basic freedoms?"

Joya's speech in the NDP convention was responded by the audience warmly.

TORONTO, Sept 10: Malalai Joya, the youngest member of the Afghan National Assembly, is currently in Canada with a clear message that foreign troops in her country have not "achieved any fundamental change".

"When the entire nation is living under the shadow of the gun and warlordism, how can its women enjoy very basic freedoms?" she asked while speaking at the Federal Convention of Canada's left-wing New Democratic Party (NDP) on Saturday.

"Contrary to the propaganda in certain western media, Afghan women and men are not liberated at all," Joya told the gathering of nearly 1,500 NDP delegates from across the country.

The 25-year-old Afghan MP, who was elected in 2005 in Farah province, has worked to protect women's rights and is the head of the Organisation for Promoting Afghan Women's Capabilities.

She expressed her sorrow for the deaths of Canadian soldiers and voiced her support for Jack Layton, the chief of NDP, who has been asking the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to withdraw Canadian troops from Afghanistan.

"I think that if Canada really wants to help Afghan people and bring positive changes, they must act independently, rather than becoming a tool for implementing the policies of the US government."

Joya noted that her country needs help to rid itself of corruption and to rebuild after years of violence, but she said that foreign soldiers under this mission are not the ones who will bring peace and stability to Afghanistan.

She summed up her views in a single sentence: "No nation can donate liberation to another nation."

The NDP convention wound up late on Saturday with its delegates voting overwhelmingly in favour of a "safe and immediate" withdrawal of Canadian troops from Afghanistan.

"We have a really strong show of support from our members," Layton told reporters after the vote.

"Now we're calling on Canadians to join us in calling on the (Stephen) Harper government to change the track he's currently on with George Bush."

Layton wants all 2,000 Canadian troops removed from the violent Kandahar region by February.

Earlier, former NDP chief, Alexa McDonough, described the military mission as a flawed means for achieving stability in Afghanistan. "We know there is no military solution," she said.

Jack Layton, Stephen Lewis and Malalai Joya in the NDP convention.