Liberation Organization of the People of Afghanistan (Persian: سازمان آزادیبخش مردم افغانستان, Sazman-e Azadibakhsh-e Mardom-e Afghanistan, SAMA) was a Maoist insurgent group operating in Afghanistan, and based in Parwan Province.[1] It was the main leftist politico-military organization in Afghanistan that fought in opposition to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan regime and the Soviets. SAMA was led by Majid Kalakani, who intended to turn SAMA into a Maoist styled United Front of forces opposed to the Soviet-backed PDPA.
| Liberation Organization of the People of Afghanistan | |
|---|---|
| سازمان آزادیبخش مردم افغانستان | |
| Leader | Majid Kalakani |
| Dates of operation | 1977–1989 |
| Ideology | Communism Marxism–Leninism–Maoism |
| Political position | Far-left |
| Part of | Revolutionary Internationalist Movement |
| Allies |  China |
| Opponents |  Soviet Union Democratic Republic of Afghanistan Hezb-i Islami |
| Battles and wars | Soviet–Afghan War |
SAMA was a Marxist–Leninist–Maoist group with links to the Revolutionary Internationalist Movement[2] although not all of its members were Maoists, it rejected the Three Worlds Theory in opposition to Faiz Ahmad's ALO. SAMA had its origins in the Shalleh-ye Javiyd Maoist movement of the 1960s and 1970s.
After Kalakani's death SAMA stagnated and declined, fighting between SAMA and Hekmatyar's Party of Islam had driven SAMA out of Kalakan and Koh Daman by 1983.[3] By 1983 government forces had infiltrated the SAMA organization and attempted to encourage SAMA to join the Government. When this did not occur the government arrested 60 of the organization's leaders. The new SAMA leadership entered into discussions with government and begun to abandon Maoism and its strategy for New Democracy, causing splits and desertions, as well as the emergence of new Maoist groups. By 1989 the organization ceased to exist.
References
editCitations
edit- ^ AFGHANISTAN: History, Diplomacy and Journalism: History, Diplomacy ..., Volume 1 by Dr. M. Halim Tanwir
- ^ "Interview with Afghan revolutionary", A World to Win, June 1986, pp. 48-56 Archived 2023-04-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Military Intervention, Stabilisation and Peace: The Search for Stability by Christian Dennys
Bibliography
edit- Ideology Without Leadership: The Rise and Decline of Maoism in Afghanistan by Afghanistan Analysts Network
- "Afghanistan Maoists Unite in a Single Party", Shola Jawid (Communist Party of Afghanistan), 1 May 2004 Archived December 25, 2022, at the Wayback Machine