Liberation Day: February 15
Liberation Day is a public holiday in Afghanistan.
Liberation Day in Afghanistan is celebrated on the 26th day of the month of Dalwo in the Afghani calendar and is celebrated on February 15 in 2010. It was declared a holiday in 2005 and became effective from 2007 onwards as a celebration of the date of the exit of the last Soviet soldier from Afghanistan in 1989.
History of Liberation Day in Afghanistan
On May 1, 1978, Nur Mohammad Taraki took control of Afghanistan with a coup and renamed the country to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. Many people welcomed the changes brought by the new secular government, but the more traditional religious conservatives were not that happy and favored Islamic law. By 1979, U.S. President Jimmy Carter started to fund the forces in Afghanistan against the pro-Soviet government.
On December 24, 1979, the Soviets, citing the 1978 Treaty of Friendship, decided to send 100,000 troops into Afghanistan. At the height of the Cold War, the Soviets supported the Marxist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Islamist Mujahideen Resistance. The initial Soviet deployment of the 40th army in Afghanistan began on December 24, 1979 under the leadership of Soviet President Leonid Brezhnev. After nine years of bloody conflict, the final troop withdrawal started on May 15, 1988, and it ended on February 15, 1989 under Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev.
Afghanistan’s Liberation Day Traditions, Customs and Activities
In Afghanistan, Liberation Day is celebrated as a political holiday, with political speeches from the president and government transmitted nationally on televisions to boost national pride. Many also celebrate Liberation Day as a religious holiday since the end of the Soviet occupation ended the secular ideas from the Marxist government. The Sharia Law was reinstituted by the new government, founding the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.
As most people in Afghanistan on this day attend religious services in mosques, it isn’t uncommon in the interior of the country that warlords familiar with the fights against the Soviets will parade their arsenal through the villages as celebration of the Mujahideen victory against the powerful army of the Soviet Union.
Other interesting posts:
- Afghanistan Victory Day
- Afghanistan celebrates Independence Day
- Czech Republic Liberation Day
- Kuwait Celebrates Liberation Day
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